The Listening Project is a full-length documentary that explores the impact of the USs global influence politically, economically, and socially. A crew of Americans traveled the globe, from Canada to South Africa to Pakistan, to find out what the international opinion of the US really is. This website provides a trailer, a synopsis, photos, and video clips from each of the fourteen countries visited.
I stumbled across this slick looking pure electric car that is both sporty and environmentally friendly. Furthermore, unlike other electric sport car concepts, this car is actually already in production with a luxury price of $98,000. Imagine driving something more fuel efficient the a Prius, and as sporty as a Porsche. This is the wave of the future, and the future looks bright!
We've all heard nutrition buzz-phrases on the Internet, TV, and in other media, but how worthwhile is it to actually use these as a guideline for healthy eating? In the linked video, author and journalist Michael Pollan talks to a room of Google employees about his thoughts on food, nutrition, and food culture in America. He openly admits that he doesn't have any hardline answers, but simply presents a few facts, speaks about his own analysis, which is very intriguing, and tries to instill a heuristic mindset in the viewers when it comes healthy, nutritious eating and its benefits.
As a nerd who occasionally dons a tinfoil hat, my literary interests naturally include dystopian fiction. A new fiction by Cory Doctorow is being released as a free ebook under a Creative Commons license. I admit I haven't yet read Little Brother, but the subject matter has me quite excited. In a nutshell, the novel details the dangers of trading liberties and privacy for (a sense of) security, and does so in a relevant, contemporary fashion. Hopefully it will find acceptance among its target audience, late teens, who tend to be wary of nontrivial entertainment.
IMing and Twitter aren't for everyone, and believe-it-or-not, it's not just about taking a curmudgeonly luddite stance — there actually are valid, practical reasons for always being marked AWAY (or, indeed, never installing an IM client at all). As Joe Kissell discusses in this thoughtful piece, some of those reasons may make enough sense that even the seriously IM-addicted might want to reconsider their habit.
You may have ironed a Kenneth Cole shirt on top of a marble table top in a jiffy, but have you ever tried to get a wrinkle out of a blazer whilst on top of the highest peak in Britain? Ian Ambrose has, and the BBC recently reported on the extreme ironing activities of this former soldier in this online article.
Well at least sometimes they do. This very interesting and fun collection provides hours of Optical Illusions & Visual Phenomena pleasure. One of the best parts of the site is that each one of the illusions is explained -- so you know (at least in part) why you are seeing what you think you're seeing. A really fun site and a great tool for understanding the tricks our eyes and brains play on us!
My Monday morning blog-rounds are especially delicious because of 3 Quarks Daily; each Monday they present original and quirky writings on science, design, literature, current affairs, art and anything else inherently fascinating. From sleep apnea to Facebook poetry, the columns never cease to introduce visitors to things we may have never learned without it. The rest of the time, this blog culls other interesting items from the Monster Web, such as an article on the politics of renaming in New York from the February 25th edition of the New York Times.
The New York Times presents a visual masterpiece depicting the human form via organs, muscle, tissue, and everything in between. Find out what a pancreas looks like, or how your brain cortex connects to your spine. A fascinating, if slightly yucky, presentation.
Fictionarium.com was created to link authors, not alphabetically, but by likeness. If you enjoyed one author, you can just click their genre and find a new author with similar qualities! You can also add new authors to help others find new books. Check out the featured author for something different! This site allows people to find something new to read, while basically guaranteeing a book youll like.