The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) claims that SOPA and PIPA are aimed at stopping online piracy. But as this infographic demonstrates, it’s really about fighting innovation.
(Embiggen at Infographic: Why the movie industry is so wrong about SOPA)
(via neil-gaiman)
SPAGHETTI FUCKING TACOS
I cannot explain why I want these. But I really want to put them into the front of my head.
(Source: ninabunni)
It’s not universally true, but, mostly “nice guys” are, in fact, nice. But their niceness is irrelevant because, in this scenario, they are “People Who Are Too Afraid Of Rejection To Make The First Move So They Hope Their Constant Presence Will Illustrate Enough Interest Entice That The Object Of Their Affection Will Risk It Instead” which is kind of hypocritical and cowardly.
In this diagram, that also applies to the girl, sweet or otherwise.
I wish one of them were facing left just to vary the dynamic, though…
(Source: onlyslightly, via hannadear)
On way to anti-choice rally Rand Paul refused TSA pat-down. Because invasive government is wrong when it’s a man’s body.
You tell’em, TV’s Frank!
(Source: goodreasonnews, via mister-sister)
jstn:
Robot and Frank is the feature film debut of Jake Schreier, my friend and longtime Francis and the Lights co-conspirator (you may know him as the director of the incredible video for The Top). It stars Frank Langella as an old man with a slipping memory whose kids (James Marsden and Liv Tyler) give him a caretaker robot that he initially loathes but gradually forms an uneasy alliance with. It just premiered at Sundance this week (see some clips here) and will likely be coming soon to a theater near you.
It also features a number of near-future devices with fictional user interfaces imagined and designed by myself, which was one of the funnest projects I’ve ever worked on. I have a new appreciation for the needs of a real, functioning interface versus the kind you see in the movies. I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you wind up seeing it keep an eye on Frank’s TV and everyone’s cell phones and tablets.
So, clearly I’m biased, but I saw a rough cut of the movie a couple months back and truly loved it. I couldn’t be more proud of Jake, who’s been working slavishly on this for a long time (he talks about the genesis of the project in this interview) as well as Francis, who wrote the film’s beautiful score.
If I never get to work on something cooler I’ll die happy.
This looks really great.
So, this is a movie I’m going to see. Sacre crap, guys.
(via bbook)
Neil deGrasse Tyson Lists 8 (Free) Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read
A Reddit.com user posed the question to Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?”
Below, you will find the book list offered up by the astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science. Where possible, we have included links to free versions of the books, all taken from our Free Audio Books and Free eBooks collections.
If you’re looking for a more extensive list of essential works, don’t miss The Harvard Classics, a 51 volume series that you can now download online.
1.) The Bible (eBook) - “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”
2.) The System of the World by Isaac Newton (eBook) – “to learn that the universe is a knowable place.”
3.) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.”
4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.”
5.) The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.”
6.) The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.”
7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”
8.) The Prince by Machiavelli (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.”
Tyson concludes by saying: “If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.”
H/T goes to Galley Cat
(via thebookloversdilemma)
photoset template #1
So, basically, you can use this template on making your graphics or gifs. A lot of you requested this, so here it is. You can adjust the height, but don’t touch the width (or else your photoset will look stretched and horrible). Hopefully, you’ll find this helpful :)
YESSSSS, thank you. :D
(Source: drunkandcoloring, via brasspistol)
—Sherlock Holmes, “The Final Problem”
Geekosystem has a fantastic post about the DMCA, how broken it is, how it’s frequently abused (with no consequences for the offenders), and how disastrous it would be if something like SOPA or PIPA were law, because it would certainly be abused in the same way, with much more serious consequences.
It’s almost funny, in a I-want-to-cry sort of way. SOPA and PIPA seem to be constructed on the premise that the DMCA had the right approach, but just isn’t strong enough. The fact of the matter is that DMCA has the wrong approach and is toopowerful. There’s evidence to back this up.
The main DMCA principle that SOPA and PIPA are building on is the takedown request. Under DMCA, anybody – anybody – can file a takedown request claiming that something on the Internet falls under their copyright and needs to be removed from wherever it is, typically YouTube. That’s all fine and dandy — good even — the problem is that there are no repercussions for filing a bogus takedown request, something that happens all the time.
Read on to see the examples he cites. I predict they will make your jaw drop.
Thank you, Mr. Wheaton, for aggregating on our behalf.
