Saw an interesting TED talk the other day by Design Mind editor-in-chief Sam Martin on The Quirky World of Manspaces. I’m pretty sure Martin would see as “quirky” this 20,000 Leagues-inspired home theater space.
(via DudeCraft)
After flying well below the radar for the last few years, Barack Obama’s younger brother, Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo, surfaced yesterday—his first public speaking event—to promote his new, autobiographical novel, Nairobi to Shenzhen.
Speaking from Shenzhen, where he lives with his Chinese wife, Ndesandjo said little about Barack, but he did say, “We are family. I love my family and we are in touch.” Seeing his brother win the Presidency helped Ndesandjo come to terms with his painful past—enough, anyway, to finish the book, what the Brown and Stanford-educated Ndesandjo calls a search for “identity and self.”
In the 255-page novel, self-published through Aventine Press, Ndesandjo’s character is called David. He makes no reference to his brother, Barack. But he depicts their Kenyan father as an abusive alcoholic who beats David, and David’s Jewish American mother.
Barack Obama Sr. married Mark’s mother, Ruth Nidesand, while he was studying at Harvard, after divorcing President Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. The elder Obama and Nidesand lived together in Nairobi, Kenya, where Mark spent much of his childhood. How much of the book is true?
‘It’s a work of fiction, but there’s a lot going on in there that parallels my life,’ Ndesandjo said.
The Washington Post: Obama’s Brother Speaks Out For First Time
A student and his girlfriend are outraged after being called a ‘black couple’ on their receipt by staff at a London pub.
Johnson Abraham, 24, and Roxanne Duhur, 21, claim they were the only couple dining when they received their bill at the Slug And Lettuce in Islington Green.
Mr Abraham, a mechanical engineering student from Dalston, was at the pub last month with Ms Duhur to celebrate her new job as an estate agent.
They ordered at the bar, without a table number, before going upstairs to find a seat. When they went to pay for the meal the comment ‘upstairs blk couple’ was printed on the bill.
Mr Abraham said: ?
This song,“The Witch,” was a worldwide hit by The Rattles. They were the first German group ever to make the America music charts. The extraordinary looking lead singer is named Edna B?ɬ
Here’s one of the lessons I plan on imparting, someday, to my kids: stay away from Lovecraft! Or at least until they’re 13. Should children below that age really be entertaining thoughts of an Old One invasion? Well, animator Zachary Murray says “yes” (or whatever passes for an affirmative on Vhoorl). His following short (approved, mind you, by the department of child-developmental psychology at Miskatonic University) seeks to awaken the wee ones to Cthulhu‘s call:
(via Laughing Squid)
Fascinating research from the University of Delaware reveals that plants recognize their siblings, but “fight” with strangers. Who knew?
Back in 2007, Canadian researchers discovered that a common seashore plant, called a sea rocket, can recognize its siblings ?
Interesting murmurs are emanating from Cupertino this week about Apple’s alleged plans to offer an all-you-can-watch television buffet for the princely sum of $30 a month. It’s about time. The days of the public buying a single song or downloading a single show for $2.99 are waning; they’d prefer to buy digital media the way they buy pens or Twizzlers from Staples, in bulk. With savvy senior citizens figuring out how to illegally download movies and music, it can be said with some confidence that iTunes has served for many as the “training wheels” for illegal Bit Torrent downloads. (It’s not a great leap—first step: download stuff from iTunes; a year later: download the same stuff for free). This alleged reasonably-priced Apple service would probably keep these folks within the paying fold. Why? Because the price is right and it’s convenient, and for no other reason.
2009 is the year when many cable customers (I’m one of them) cut the wire for good. With it being so easy to get the things they want for free online, why should consumers be obliged to spend $90 a month for 500 channels, 490 of them that are never, ever watched? Paying just $30 for the things you do want to watch is a no-brainer. You won’t need the DVR either, saving you an additional $12 a month.
And then there is what could be called the “Hulu problem” which should theoretically make this service more attractive for the networks (although it might take a while to get them there): Hulu execs make a big deal about selling out the advertising inventory for Hulu, but as CBS’s outgoing digital CEO Quincy Smith stated bluntly to All Things D, “You and I can say all day long, ‘We?
From the Etsy store that brought you Vegan Vulva Lip Balm and the Frida Kahlo Uterus Plushie:
Worried that your uterus is too small? Wow them the next time you go to the gynecologist, be the envy of all of your peers. Why is this Spanish woman so happy? Just look at the size of her uterus! Order now and see instant results! All that and a money back guarantee! This pillow is 20” tall, 29” wide and has a wing span of 69”! (Basically she is really really big). Made with super soft fleece and flannel ovaries she makes a great cuddle buddy.
@ Etsy: VulvaLoveLovely’s Utera Maxima
Previously on Dangerous Minds: Dodge Trucks Exposed!
