Walnut And Carrara

(via The National: Falling For ‘Graceless’ : NPR) The band...

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:23:56 -0400

(via The National: Falling For ‘Graceless’ : NPR)

The band performs a special studio session for New York City’s WFUV in advance of its new sixth album, Trouble Will Find Me. Watch The National perform “Graceless,” live from The Cutting Room Studios in Manhattan.

(thanks/via: npr)

theatlanticcities: “The night explosion was the longest...

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:11:28 -0400

theatlanticcities:

“The night explosion was the longest concrete-bridge demolition in China’s history, according to ITV News. In a sign of how fast China is developing, the two-lane bridge, which was only about 16 years old, will soon be replaced with a six-lane highway that’ll be a mile longer than the original.”

Read: One of the Craziest Bridge Demolitions You’ll Ever See

Engineered demolition explosions are cool; this one was massive.

Nonconservative Groups Say IRS Scrutinized Them, Too : NPR

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:37:53 -0400

Nonconservative Groups Say IRS Scrutinized Them, Too : NPR:

Appreciated this article titled Nonconservative Groups Say IRS Scrutinized Them, Too from NPR today. Although it is troubling that either side of the political spectrum might be targeted, this story is much ado about nothing. Considering that it is the job of the IRS to make sure organizations allowed to avoid paying taxes really deserve to avoid paying those taxes, we should be hoping the IRS does a better job investigating tax dodging corporations and individuals.

(thanks/via: NPR)

Solar Impulse Solar Powered Record Flight The photos are pretty...

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:20:21 -0400

Solar Impulse Solar Powered Record Flight

The photos are pretty grand and the flight of the Solar Impulse across the US inspirational. We may yet purge fossil fuels from the US although we’ll fight the fossil fuel industries every step of the way.

Solar Impulse, the Solar-Powered Plan, Begins U.S. Expedition from National Geographic.

Watch a video of the plane flying on CNet here.

There are a lot more images on the Solar Impulse site here.

(thanks/via: Coolist)

“Before Midnight”: Official Trailer (by...

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:17:39 -0400

“Before Midnight”: Official Trailer (by FilmArcade)

Can’t wait. These people are so much a part of our lives that it feels like a voyeurism just peeking the trailer before the released. Ethan Hawke is a skilled actor, Delpy a natural; they both bring such intelligence to their roles.

One Couple, Nearly 20 Years, All ‘Before Midnight’

(thanks/via:NPR)

Daft Punk-Get Luck featuring Pharrell Williams From an interview...

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:39:55 -0400

Daft Punk-Get Luck featuring Pharrell Williams

From an interview with Daft Punk on NPR:

Daft Punk On ‘The Soul That A Musician Can Bring

(thanks/via: NPR)

Watch The Dream is Now Documentary about the Dream Act. Support...

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:39:42 -0400

Watch The Dream is Now Documentary about the Dream Act. Support the DREAM (sadly a birth date required to sign the petition).

(thanks/via: The Dream is Now)

The greatest Dodger of all time: Sandy Koufax What began with a...

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:01:45 -0400

An undated photograph of Dodgers great Sandy Koufax.

A box containing the only known audio tape of Vin Scully calling Sandy Koufax's first no–hitter in 1962.

Sandy Koufax, left, and catcher John Roseboro celebrate on the field in Los Angeles after the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 2–1 to take the 1963 World Series.

The greatest Dodger of all time: Sandy Koufax

What began with a simple question from sports writer Houston Mitchell: “Who are the 10 greatest Dodgers of all time?” turned into a massive wave of feedback, with 12,231 ballots surging in. And after a lengthy wait, we can finally reveal that the top Dodger of all time is legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax.

What made Koufax so great (beyond his victory on our ballot):

Koufax was the first pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards (1963, ‘65 and ‘66), as well as the first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award by a unanimous vote (1963, when he went 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA). Many people will tell you that the greatest pitcher in baseball history was Sandy Koufax on four days’ rest. Second greatest? Sandy Koufax on three days’ rest.

As for the rest of the top three, the groundbreaking Jackie Robinson came in second, and the longtime voice of the Dodgers, Vin Scully, took third.

Many thanks to everyone who sent in a ballot, and feel free to check out the rest of the top-ranking Dodgers here!

Photos: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times, Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images

(thanks/via: latimes)

Piano Works 13 by Julien Martorell ”Piano Works 13” is two...

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:32:00 -0400

Piano Works 13 by Julien Martorell

”Piano Works 13” is two minutes of hypnotic dancers moving to gentle piano, and a dash of calligraphic motion design.

YES please!

(thanks/via: vimeo)

Yahoo is reportedly looking to purchase Tumblr Oh no! (thanks/via: npr and theweekmagazine)

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:21:06 -0400

Yahoo is reportedly looking to purchase Tumblr

Oh no!

(thanks/via: npr and theweekmagazine)

A great cover of the Daft Punk song Get Lucky by Daughter. At...

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:59:01 -0400

A great cover of the Daft Punk song Get Lucky by Daughter. At Doug Fir Lounge in Portland on March 18 the LA 21-22.

Oh, incidentally/by the way can we possibly hope to communicate...

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:32:45 -0400

Oh, incidentally/by the way can we possibly hope to communicate if English doesn’t mean the same thing on either side of the pond?

(thanks/via: English to English)

Refers to my previous post below. Zero Congressional...

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:58:00 -0400

Refers to my previous post below.

Zero Congressional hearings.

(thanks/via: liberalsarecool)

Oh REALLY?! Memory problems? (thanks/via: liberalsarecool)

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:57:16 -0400

Oh REALLY?! Memory problems?

(thanks/via: liberalsarecool)

humanrightswatch: Bahrain: Detained Activists Allege...

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:54:05 -0400

humanrightswatch:

Bahrain: Detained Activists Allege Torture

Since late April, 2013, in separate cases, Bahraini security officials have allegedly tortured a prominent rights activist and a woman arrested for protesting the Formula 1 grand prix race in April, including with electric shocks, and forced them to sign confessions. The allegations emerged two weeks after the Bahraini authorities indefinitely postponed the visit of the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report, issued in November 2011, concluded that five people detained in connection with protests earlier in 2011 had died as a result of torture in custody.

Read more.

Dubai Timelapse (by dimid) Pretty amazing considering most of...

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:25:14 -0400

Dubai Timelapse (by dimid)

Pretty amazing considering most of the construction has taken place only in the very recent period.

"Accusations of bias have flown during both Republican and Democratic administrations. Four days..."

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:48:00 -0400

“

Accusations of bias have flown during both Republican and Democratic administrations. Four days before the 1992 election, for example, Branch Ministries of Binghamton, N.Y. took out full-page advertisements in major newspapers stating that “Bill Clinton is promoting policies that are in rebellion to God’s laws.” The ads were a brazen violation of tax law, which requires 501(c)(3) organizations such as churches to stay out of election politics. Nevertheless, when the IRS moved to revoke the group’s tax status, the church accused the agency of bowing to pressure from the Clinton administration.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, a minister unleashed a diatribe from the pulpit of All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif., against George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq. After the election, the IRS opened an investigation of the 501(c)(3) church. Although All Saints Church ultimately kept its tax-exempt status, leaders claimed the legal defense cost more than $200,000 and openly wondered whether political influence triggered the investigation.

”

- IRS targeting the Tea Party: A history of tax agency scandals from Slate Magazine

Funny that conservatives didn’t complain about IRS targeting All Saints Church in Pasadena under Bush (note it was not a diatribe, read text here). In retrospect the church’s criticism of fabricated arguments for invading Iraq was insightful and a public service.

More reporting on this issue, The Real IRS Scandal from TIME:

…the IRS does need to crack down on political groups masquerading as social-welfare organizations. Many of the nonprofit groups who claim 501(c)(4) status either flout tax law or flirt with the murky line between electioneering and issue advocacy, all while using their tax-exempt status to conceal their donors…(source)

More on this issue an article titled The Real IRS Scandal from the Los Angeles Times .

"America is distinctive among advanced industrialized countries in the burden it places on students..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:04:40 -0400

“America is distinctive among advanced industrialized countries in the burden it places on students and their parents for financing higher education. America is also exceptional among comparable countries for the high cost of a college degree, including at public universities…. Total student debt, around $1 trillion, surpassed total credit-card debt last year.”

- Joseph Stiglitz, in the New York Times

From: Joseph Stiglitz’ column titled Student Debt and the Crushing of the American Dream, New York Times

(thanks/via: liberalsarecool and New York Times)

What Is It About Bees And Hexagons? : Krulwich...

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:33:15 -0400

What Is It About Bees And Hexagons? : Krulwich Wonders

Solved! A bee-buzzing, honey-licking 2,000-year-old mystery that begins here, with this beehive. Look at the honeycomb in the photo and ask yourself: (I know you’ve been wondering this all your life, but have been too shy to ask out loud … ) Why is every cell in this honeycomb a hexagon? (read the article here)

(thanks/via: NPR)

This is GREAT: Daft Punk First Listen

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:15:06 -0400

You can stream to Daft Punk’s new album (available May 21) on iTunes via this link. Fantastic!!