The urbanization of America comes with a price: taxes for services, scarcity of resources and specialization. One interesting case study due to the recession: Voters in the city of Colorado Springs overwhelmingly denied a property tax increase to save basic city services. So much for the late night helicopter training or even green grass, never the less street lights on your city block.
Will conservatism win over this largely middle-class enclave, or will the masses revolt in a year?
ed: added link to denver post
Entered by grant on 02.05.2010 at 11:52
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i cry at movies; i've been known to weep during cartoons. i don't cry nearly as much as this guys wife, who records her watching the end of movies and crying her eyes out at crying wife.
via reddit
Entered by taylor on 02.04.2010 at 12:24
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one of the better 'powers of 10' type presentations around, utah.edu's cell size and scale page lets you zoom at will.
don't miss the eames classic video either.
bil for the utah find...
Entered by taylor on 02.04.2010 at 11:50
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mr chan, fung shui consultant, was denied the estate of deceased billionare mrs wang. it's a much more colorful story than you might expect; mr chan was a bartender before assuming the persona of a fung shui master; to cure mrs wang of cancer, he ordered holes dug all over hong kong so that precious stones, statues, and money could be buried. sort of like a chinese rasputin, depending on how you read that story.
Entered by taylor on 02.02.2010 at 8:47
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HP/EDS was recently found guilty of 'fraudulent misrepresentation' by their sales team in a court case brought by BskyB in the UK. the key witness, joe galloway, who was responsible for a large piece of the representation in question, had bought an internet degree from concordia college in the us virgin islands; the cross examiner was able to purchase an identical degree for his dog lulu, with the difference that the dog received a higher mark.
Entered by taylor on 02.01.2010 at 9:21
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in germany, they like method acting. method acting is usually reacted to as amazing to watch, but a pain to work with. also, it is not recommended for a play about russians getting drunk, cause they get drunk on vodka.
Entered by the_andude on 01.31.2010 at 0:50
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I went to Sprouts "Farmers Market" to get some avocados that were a great deal. While there, I was surprised to see an employee restocking their "all natural" chicken from a Tyson Foods box. The chicken was packaged as though fresh from the butcher without Tyson anywhere on the package. I asked the employee about it and he seemed to not understand my issue. The next time I saw him come out he was restocking the chicken from a tray instead of out of the box this time. I was dissapointed, to say the least, so I called to talk to a manager who said she didn't know where their meat came from and then sent me to the deli who sent me to a guy who told me to call back tomorrow. Hardly what I call a Farmer's Market.
Entered by matt banks on 01.28.2010 at 14:47
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So you've probably heard about the "sleep talkin' man" blog, in which a wife publishes the things her British hubby says while he dozes. (Careful--cuss words in there.) Some of it's quite funny, such as "No, not the cats. Don't trust them. Their eyes. Their eyes. They know too much," and "You can't be a pirate if you haven't got a beard. I said so. MY boat, MY rules."

Well, if you've ever wondered what a theologian might say if that theologian would talk in his sleep, wonder no more. Turns out that Fred Sanders (previously and previously) used to do the same thing in his grad school days, and his wife recorded it.
Entered by Jonathan Reibsamen on 01.28.2010 at 8:26
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Domino's Pizza's new ad campaign will actually be talked about and read about in marketing books for decades. Time will tell how effective it is. It is brilliant in that it allows them to be thankful to those who even mock them for their ad. Personally, I have never tried domino's in the US, but it was actually my favorite here in Costa Rica. Then again, I am not very picky and perhaps even like eating cardboard.
Entered by marco perez on 01.27.2010 at 10:47
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artist caleb larson is selling a tool to deceive and slaughter, which is a black acrylic box that sells itself on ebay every 7 days. the artist receives 15% of the sale price every time it changes hands.
bid away amigos.
via slashdot
Entered by taylor on 01.25.2010 at 7:45
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In case you've been missing the so-called "late night wars" on NBC, here's an explanation from our friends in Taiwan. (the same folks who previously explained the tiger woods incident to you.)
if you prefer a more american take, watch the ken burns documentary. (ok, it's not really burns.)
ed: fixed the second link.
Entered by Jonathan Reibsamen on 01.24.2010 at 9:34
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White House tape recording of LBJ talking to Haggar clothing company about some custom pants. He has some specific dislikes addressed: “In the crotch, down where your nuts hang. Feels like you are riding a wire fence." Give it a listen.
Entered by matt banks on 01.21.2010 at 18:39
Comments : 1            

iz in sekrit mode.
reading time.
but its for the best.
dog pranks human.
chewing gum in venice.
find a way
Entered by taylor on 01.20.2010 at 15:26
Comments : 1            

the university of alaska fairbanks (aka the nanooks, a pretty great name of itself) have amazing video openers for their hockey games. like the one where an icebreaker wakens a sleeping polar bear who jumps into an f-16 and destroys the earth, or when the big dipper explodes into a rocket bear who destroys the moon, or when a spotlight signal awakens a bear who destroys a red bird then the roof of the hockey arena. there is a related video for a fairbanks football team which involves a grizzly standing in for godzilla after being awakened by crowd noise.
via metafilter
update: updated the first link.
Entered by taylor on 01.19.2010 at 8:23
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after a bear destroyed a plane in the backcountry of alaska, the pilot repaired the aircraft with duct tape then flew home.
there i fixed it.
via metafilter
Entered by taylor on 01.15.2010 at 7:58
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missed out on the internet phenom that is bangs. if you're new to bangs, start out with take u to da movies; then move on his youtube channel for hits like my special girl.
thanks to b.il.
Entered by taylor on 01.14.2010 at 9:26
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ach - i hate those boring music posts with the same trash music parading around. it's such crap, so predictable. who listens to that misery anyway?
Midlake-Rulers_Ruling_All_Things.mp3 a few tracks from the new midlake album are out; more of their 70s rock sound. for me, it's been true that the first listens don't grab me, but it stands up over time really well. more available: 1, 2
The_Ruby_Suns-Cranberry_radio_edit.mp3 indie pop, with some animal collective-ish feel.
Clogs-Three_Two.mp3 another nice, acoustic, mellow, instrumental, gentle, etc track from clogs. more available: 1
E_Gold-Separate_Our_Hearts_ft_alexis_ghost_hunter_remix.mp3 mellow track that, to me, sounds somewhere between sade (who has a new album out) and portishead.
Twin_Sister-I_Want_A_House.mp3 eclectic indie folk; mild and interesting, with enough catchy-ness to carry you along.
The_Besnard_Lakes-Albatross.mp3 beach boys backing vocals behind this indie rock track with some seryus noise elements.
The_Knife-Colouring_Of_Pigeons.mp3 if you like the knife and/or fever ray (the singer, who also has a solo career), here's their latest track. if you're not familiar, it's a bit on the eclectic side of indie. more available: 1, 2, 3
White_Hinterland-Icarus.mp3 nice open indie pop driven by bright vocals against the rhythm section. nice production as well. more available: 1, 2
Miracles_Club-A_New_Love.mp3 girly epop pushed way over towards the ambient side of things; almost as though au revoir simone had opted for fewer lyrics.
Charlotte_Gainsbourg-Heaven_Can_Wait_nosaj_thing_remix.mp3 nice remix of this beck/charlotte gainsbourg song; the vocals are at once the focus and tucked back. more available: 1, 2
Grouper-Vessel.mp3 grouper is so mellow that it's almost ambient. spare and warm, it's great night music. more available: 1, 2
JJ-Ecstacy.mp3 more from jj, this time a mellow open track without the world beat influence. more available: 1, 2
The_Go_Find-Everybody_Knows_Its_Gonna_Happen_Only_Not_Tonight.mp3 mellow indie rock that vaguely fits into whatever category you park the xx.
Tigercity-Ancient_Lover_french_horn_rebellion_remix.mp3 if you liked cut copy's first album (new wave done 25 years too late), you may also like this. more available: 1
Juliana_Barwick-Cloudbank.mp3 perhaps too odd and ambient, but if you scrunch your ears up it might work for some of you who like sigur ros, minus the hopelandic ridiculousness.

Entered by taylor on 01.13.2010 at 12:57
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in the spring of 1961, a soviet doctor on a base in antarctica gave himself an appendectomy.
the article includes his diary notes, such as, "My poor assistants! At the last minute I looked over at them: they stood there in their surgical whites, whiter than white themselves. I was scared too."
via metafilter
Entered by taylor on 01.13.2010 at 9:39
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photoshop mastery (check the faces).
metal.
bizness dog, biz ness dog is all business.
the icy hand of death.
Entered by taylor on 01.11.2010 at 14:44
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I'm sure everyone is up to date on this... but President Obama changed the date of the State of the Union address so that it would not clash with the final season premier of "Lost". Personally, I find this a very sad reality. I think he should have simply broadcast the first show, as part of his speech. Instead of commercials, he could enter into a discussion on the State of Sawyer's and Juliet's relationship, and whether Jack and Kate should really get together, or if they are a self-destructive force. He should discuss some of the cutting edge inventions that DARPA is coming up with, and relate them to those inventions that are similar to the DHARMA initiative. If somehow he can incorporate health care, fight against terrorism, the economic crisis, and Hugo's insanity... finally the State of the Union could become a real entertaining event.
Entered by marco perez on 01.08.2010 at 19:35
Comments : 1            

vanity fair has a piece on army snipers, focusing on an army reserve sniper from the countryside near austin. it has the usual short/choppy sentence structure that is trendy these days, but don't let that get you down. stay positive.
Entered by taylor on 01.08.2010 at 9:57
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goodnight keith moon.
you might need to brush up on your keith moon facts to really appreciate this one; the quintessential i-don't-care-about-anything destructive rock star.
via metafilter
Entered by taylor on 01.06.2010 at 17:05
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20 things that happen in a minute.
similar...
climbing wha.
anatidaephobia.
free stylin.
Entered by taylor on 01.06.2010 at 11:17
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sea shepherd (you know, the anti-whaling group that does all kinds of stuff to stop whaling) deployed a new boat named the ady gil (all batman carbon fiber etc).
after a collision with a whaling vessel early today, it was cut in half and sunk. all crew members were rescued; presumably they intentionally placed the boat in the path of the whaling vessel.
update: apparently they're saying that it's in two pieces but has not sunk. the nytimes says that the nose was sheared off.
via metafilter
Entered by taylor on 01.06.2010 at 8:29
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pdiddy-daddy looking a bit upset after finding a $1 in his wad of $100. you know, mo money mo problems and all.
Entered by taylor on 01.05.2010 at 15:42
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employee of the month.
barista: ackbar.
cover your bases.
we have a match.
saturn v.
Entered by taylor on 12.30.2009 at 14:44
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bowtie wearers are, by the numbers, perceived as being older, a republican, a store clerk, smart and brainy, and dull and rigid; definitely not "strong, smooth, or a leader".
via metafilter
Entered by taylor on 12.29.2009 at 16:53
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the new most amazing bike trick video has a write up in the nytimes and over 13 million views on youtube. it's done by a scottish cyclist who, thanks to the video, now "buys a better caliber of takeout food"
Entered by taylor on 12.29.2009 at 9:25
Comments : 0            

is college really worth it?
maybe you should have gone to a technical institute.
Entered by jeff ronk on 12.23.2009 at 12:40
Comments : 1            

a letter from scotland, on the differences of being in the wild wet lands.
Entered by taylor on 12.21.2009 at 18:21
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according to the wall street journal, executives have discovered settlers of catan. next they will learn of puerto rico, and perhaps even undertake overnight axis and allies events.
i like settlers, but my dear friend rocky hates it so much that he made a shirt that said, "don't settle for settlers".
Entered by taylor on 12.17.2009 at 9:10
Comments : 1            

here are some dolphins.
my fingers hurt just watching.
mmm. brakfas.
problems.
tilt it back.
Entered by taylor on 12.16.2009 at 10:02
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texas' own leaning tower
here's a little running commentary on texas' own leaning tower. unlike its famous counterpart this one is scheduled for implosion sunday. you might want to consider a combo dolphin watch/implosion viewing available here.
Entered by jeff ronk on 12.11.2009 at 21:01
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japanese tricksters have created a single puzzle that can become any picture you want. quoting slashdot, you can "take a photo (for example, of yourself) with a cell-phone, e-mail it to the company, and they will send you back a pattern that will recreate that photo."
pictures prove the point.
via slashdot
Entered by taylor on 12.11.2009 at 7:21
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it's been a month and a half since the last mp3 post, but now there are so many.
The_xx-Crystalised.mp3 more from the xx, download away (mellow, indie stuff that's surprisingly catchy.) more available: 1, 2, 3, 4
The_Field-Sequenced_rainbow_arabias_dark_and_dumb_remix.mp3 too boring and repetitious for almost everyone, except the one or two people who like to study to this type of thing.
Best_Coast-When_Im_With_You.mp3 open alt stuff, heavy on the post punk girl sounds of days gone by.
Big_Boi-Shine_Blockas_ft_gucci_mane.mp3 mix it up with some big boi radio hip hop, i mean super legit gangsta rap. more available: 1
Raphael_Saadiq-Staying_In_Love.mp3 this came out a while ago, but this is the first free track i've seen off of the album. you older types may remember saadiq from tony toni tone; the rest of you will recognize the style as old school r&b.
Violens-Avenue_st_etienne_cover.mp3 nice cover by violens; reasonably spare sounding track, which takes the bright etienne sound a different direction. more available: 1
RJD2-Games_You_Can_Win_ft_kenna.mp3 the r&bish vocals mesh pretty well with rjd2s instrumentation. a bit different than what you might expect from rjd2, but good. more available: 1, 2, 3
Tycho-Coastal_Brake.mp3 open electronica, a bit like ulrich schnauss.
Steve_Mason-All_Come_Down.mp3 going solo after his betaband career. pretty easy listening, it's basically adult mellow rock with some hints of the betaband.
Korallreven-Loved_Up_nhessingtons_remix.mp3 some mellow electronica stuff, you know the deal.
A_Sunny_Day_In_Glasgow-Shy_ernest_gonzales_remix.mp3 more open ambient stuff from a sunny day; the beat is a bit much at points, but it works well enough. more available: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Lindstrom-Baby_Cant_Stop_with_cristabelle_aeroplane_vocal_remix.mp3 this track was getting some big love in blog circles, though in confess it didn't do tons for me. it did grow on me a bit with time though, and it's so widly loved, that i figure it might be worth including. more available: 1, 2, 3
Toro_Y_Moi-Blessa.mp3 toro y moi is outta columbia, sc. sup, columbia. i liked a lot of his tracks, and if you listen now you'll be cool ahead of his album even existing. more available: 1, 2, 3
Air-Sing_Sang_Sung_black_moth_super_rainbow_remix.mp3 air, usually known for their breezy electro vibe (you might know them from sofia coppola films), gets mixed with some more alternative elements. it works well to me, but if you like your pop straight up, maybe not so much. more available: 1
Nite_Jewel-We_Want_Our_Things.mp3 this wasn't gonna get posted, then i finally decided to after listening to it while studying, and thinking that mr fish might want to listen to it as well while he studies. it's euro-synth-new-wave mellow inde pop with a female singerstress. more available: 1, 2, 3
Saint_Etienne-Spring_air_france_mix.mp3 very normal saint etienne stuff here, even though it's a remix - light, breezy, epop.
Birds_And_Batteries-Sneaky_Times.mp3 this reminded me of a indie rock band i can't remember mixed up with some older trip hop; not the most helpful description i realize, but i enjoyed it. more available: 1
Sleigh_Bells-Crown_On_The_Ground.mp3 it's loud and abrasive, but not dissonant enough to turn off my wife, who commented that she "kind of liked it". parts of it had some strong 'rage' similarity, but with some waif female vocals. big difference in tone and energy between this track and 'ring ring', which is also worth grabbing. bonus: the newyorker wrote about them. more available: 1, 2, 3, 4
Entered by taylor on 12.10.2009 at 16:19
Comments : 0            

I am no expert on the whole global climate debate. Nonetheless, it's time B&C move away from the issues that are truly troubling society today, to more mundane matters. Here's an article that reminds readers of the 1975 global cooling doomsday reports. The cause? CO2 emissions. I found it very interesting, just to compare the two trends. Personally, I don't question that we humans have been horrible stewards of our environment, and that we need to do all that is in our ability to improve our World. If that means that I need to walk or ride a bike every once in a while, so be it. So there... P-Diddy and your frangrances. Try that discussion on for size.
Entered by marco perez on 12.09.2009 at 11:10
Comments : 1            

I don't have much more to add. Just watch.
Entered by marco perez on 12.07.2009 at 19:20
Comments : 0            

pdiddy hawks bubble bath on the home shopping network. some serious thug life going on the hsn.
via metafilter.
Entered by taylor on 12.07.2009 at 8:23
Comments : 1            

jeremy bell built a lego gun he'd ordered and ended up cuffed by a swat team.
homies page is down, so here's the google cache.
Entered by taylor on 12.04.2009 at 13:59
Comments : 0            

ooohhh, cartwheels. (thanks jason)
my tricks with cat.
not a crime.
yeaaaaaay.
it's a communist sport, but still.
mmm-hmm.
Entered by taylor on 12.03.2009 at 14:55
Comments : 0