http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2012/11/obama-tax-hikes-and-fiscal-cliff.html

#424 Brun:

Hominid: predation among the human-skeleton’ed prehistoric creatures:

Brian Andrews has spent many years producing his striking “Hominid” images, described as “photo composites made from human and veterinary images creating hominid creatures.” Now, these images have been animated, and the result is beautiful and haunting and profoundly, wonderfully disturbing.

Hominid is an animated teaser based on the Hominid series of photo composites by Brian Andrews. The series has been exhibited internationally, including at SIGGRAPH, in the Hong Kong Exhibition Center, and at numerous galleries. This animated teaser was produced at Ex’pression College for Digital Arts. Be on the lookout for future Hominid animations.

Hominid

(via JWZ)

What the election map would have looked like if only white men could vote:

No wonder Ann Coulter wants women’s voting rights taken away.

What The 2012 Election Would Have Looked Like Without Universal Suffrage (Via Sociological Images)

[Open-source relativistic game engine will be available. Art project, anyone? -egg]
Videogame simulates “a slower speed of light”:

MIT researchers developed a game that simulates the weird relativistic effects of slowing down the speed of light.

A Slower Speed of Light is a first-person game prototype in which players navigate a 3D space while picking up orbs that reduce the speed of light in increments. Custom-built, open-source relativistic graphics code allows the speed of light in the game to approach the player’s own maximum walking speed. Visual effects of special relativity gradually become apparent to the player, increasing the challenge of gameplay. These effects, rendered in realtime to vertex accuracy, include the Doppler effect (red- and blue-shifting of visible light, and the shifting of infrared and ultraviolet light into the visible spectrum); the searchlight effect (increased brightness in the direction of travel); time dilation (differences in the perceived passage of time from the player and the outside world); Lorentz transformation (warping of space at near-light speeds); and the runtime effect (the ability to see objects as they were in the past, due to the travel time of light).

“A Slower Speed of Light“

High Frontiers (1984 proto-cyberdelic ‘zine) now online:

The first issue of the ‘zine High Frontiers (1984), founded by BB pal and co-conspirator RU Sirius, is now online at the Internet Archive. High Frontiers begat Reality Hackers which begat Mondo 2000 which begat the cyberdelic early 1990s. “First Glimpse Of MONDO 2000 History Project Archives: Complete Issue #1 Of High Frontiers” (Acceler8or)

How to Consider New Ideas:

So, my publisher is offering a combo pack of my third Book, The Curse of the Masking Tape Mummy, and the Basic Instructions Coffee Mug for fifteen dollars. At that price, you’re basically paying full price for the book and getting the mug for five cents, which sounds like a good deal to me. You can find the details on my store page.
And thanks as always for using my Amazon Affiliate links (US, UK, Canada).

Artisanal DIY Sriracha: HOWTO homebrew “rooster sauce,” without the chemical preservatives:

Oh god oh god oh god. I may join the hordes in gently mocking artisanal mayonnaise and overpriced bobo flour grinders, but this, this is important. Sriracha, the spicy red nectar of the gods that makes everything taste better, is awesome but contains various chemical preservatives that some of us prefer not to ingest with every single meal, because we put Sriracha on every single meal. Finally, a HOWTO video that breaks down how some obsessives brew their own. Oh god oh god. Video Link.
From SkeeterNYC:

“Food is naturally different. So, I just really want to honor that variety and let the chili peppers do the talking.”
Meet Jolene Collins, the founder and artisan behind Jojo’s Sriracha in Brooklyn, NY. Jolene is obsessed with sriracha. She discovered the chili sauce at age 15, when, in a hunger frenzy, she coated her tuna sandwich and potato chips with the unfamiliar condiment. When she recounts the story, you can see she remembers it as if time stopped. It was a moment she’ll never forget. A moment that maybe, just maybe, foreshadowed her destiny.
So, enjoy Jolene’s spicy little story about the unlocked potential of the sriracha you know and, probably, love. She’ll have you convinced that her artisan sriracha, is so much more than the average cock sauce.
Thanks so much for supporting food. curated. and small artisans! Happy Eating!

To find out where to purchase this one-of-a-kind sriracha, visit: foodcurated.com.

(thanks @friendlystinger)

In the long history of love songs the attention of a beautiful…:

In the long history of love songs the attention of a beautiful woman has been compared to many things – but perhaps only in Pakistan’s tribal belt would it be likened to the deadly missile strike of a remotely controlled US drone.
In a sign of how the routine hunting down and killing of militants by unmanned CIA planes has leached into the popular imagination, drones have been given a starring role in a new romantic song.
In most respects the track, which is proving popular in the largely Pashtun city of Peshawar, is faithful to standard themes of the genre. The lyrics mention rosebuds and wine. o blaring music it celebrates the allures of a temptress with “sweet lips” and a “smile fresh as early dew” which “ensnares lovers with amorous pangs”.
Then the repeated chorus: “My gaze is as fatal as a drone attack”.

Pakistan drone attack love song racks up YouTube hits – The Guardian
za kaom pa stargo stargo drone hamla – Da Khkulo Badshahi Da Film Song – Dua Qureshi (by tungtakordotcom)

[Huh. I’ve been a bit cautious about buying into the Rolling Jubilee thing even though it sounds like an awesome idea. I’ve been worried, for one thing, that it might legally qualify as a pyramid scheme. But this collection of folks lends the idea at least a bit of legitimacy. I certainly hope the idea works out. -Egg]

Rolling Jubilee: Occupy raising money to buy up, and wipe out, debts:

David “How to Sharpen Pencils” Rees describes the Rolling Jubilee, a project from Occupy Wall Street to buy up, and zero out, other peoples’ debts:

Now OWS is launching the ROLLING JUBILEE, a program that has been in development for months. OWS is going to start buying distressed debt (medical bills, student loans, etc.) in order to forgive it. As a test run, we spent $500, which bought $14,000 of distressed debt. We then ERASED THAT DEBT. (If you’re a debt broker, once you own someone’s debt you can do whatever you want with it — traditionally, you hound debtors to their grave trying to collect. We’re playing a different game. A MORE AWESOME GAME.)

This is a simple, powerful way to help folks in need — to free them from heavy debt loads so they can focus on being productive, happy and healthy. As you can see from our test run, the return on investment approaches 30:1. That’s a crazy bargain!

Now, after many consultations with attorneys, the IRS, and our moles in the debt-brokerage world, we are ready to take the Rolling Jubilee program LIVE and NATIONWIDE, buying debt in communities that have been struggling during the recession.

We’re kicking things off with a show called THE PEOPLE’S BAILOUT at Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday, November 15. It will also stream online, like a good ol’-fashioned telethon!

I just put in $100, which will erase $3000 worth of someone’s debt.

The People’s Bailout