video taken during today’s Chinese earthquake
BUS YOUR OWN TRAY
Beautiful Agony is Not Porn
My first contribution to Tilzy.tv. Slightly edited for content.
I have a soft spot for new videos shot on old equipment.
Directed by Melina Matsoukas. Even better in HD.
A theory on economic indicators I've been kicking around:
The health of the economy is inversely proportional to the cleanliness and organization of your local Best Buy store.
Support: My Best Buy was fucking spotless and well-stocked today.
Enjoy the recession!
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
In honor of the tumbl below, Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend
What is the most erotic word in the English language?
If it’s not unbutton, then what is it? Tumblrers, start your engines…I say abscond. My brother, Josh, says smock. Brother Zach says viral. Zach’s gf, Rach, says aplomb.
Smock’s pretty hot.
you want to know what the worst rule is in law?
When you write in legalese, and you want to list some things in a sentence, the last two things in that list are separated with “and” in lieu of a comma. So it’s incorrect to write, “wine, eggs, and cheese” — you have to write it, “wine, eggs and cheese.”
I say “have to” because if you don’t do it that way in law school, in sample briefs and motions, you get points knocked off.
I say this is the wost rule because when you ever try to write something normal, like a letter or a tumbl, you second-guess your natural inclination to throw a comma in front of that “and.” And that can really throw off your train of thought.
It’s grammatteral damage.
What’s also pretty bad is that nobody explains the function of that non-existent comma. I wonder if anybody even knows why that’s the rule. It’s the kind of thing that has the air of being passed down because somebody passed it down to the passer-downer.
That’s the other worst rule in law: tradition comes in with the advantage against reason. That one’s a bitch.
———
UPDATE: Apparently it’s called the “serial comma” (a.k.a. the “Oxford Comma” or the “Harvard Comma”) when you put it before a conjunction. And, I was right: “There is no consensus among writers or editors on the use of the serial comma. It is closer to being standard use in American English than it is in British English.” Nobody knows for sure where it comes from, or why it’s here.
Also, there’s disagreement as to its function: “Arguments typically advanced for use of the serial comma include … that it sometimes reduces ambiguity (cited). … Arguments typically advanced for avoidance of the serial comma include … that it may introduce ambiguity (see examples below).”
The ambiguity problem is really the most important aspect of this issue, from a legal perspective. There was a case that made public attention not so long ago where a major point of judgement hinged on the existence or non-existence of a comma. In all fairness to my alma mater, preference was always placed on consistency, which was really the ultimate arbiter of whether points got knocked off. If you used the serial comma all the time, your grader might have mercy on you. But my experience was they certainly didn’t stress this — all the pressure was directed squarely on not using the serial comma; that that was “right.”
I suddenly just realized the incredible impact a comma has had on my life.
( via wikipedia )
“ It just occurred to me that trademark infringement is a form of identity theft
The BBC produced this eleven years ago, when I lived in London, and for months it was inescapable. Not that I tried all too hard to get away from it. This was during the death of Diana, the peak of Sensationalism, the reign of the Spice Girls. A fascinating little time to be surrounded by British pop.
A music video for Datarock’s “Fa Fa Fa,” done all machinima style with the Sims 2 engine, with the lyrics translated into that warbly Sims gibberish.
Awesome data visualization video: commercial air traffic flight patterns
My new favorite website, for at least the next two hours.
The minute Mark sent me this URL, I knew it was going to be good.
“manbabies”
from the bizzare coincidences department
In the past twelve hours, two people, working at two different companies, and on two unrelated projects, complained to me about having to do research on “Vampire lore” for their job.there's a story here, I reckon
From today’s LA Times:
Silver Lake Reservoir — the century-old neighborhood landmark drained earlier this year — started to look like its old self again Wednesday …
The empty reservoir revealed hundreds of golf balls, articles of clothing and even one wedding ring — a simple uninscribed gold band — which is now being worn by one of the biologists who helps maintain the water.
The Silver Lake Reservoir is surrounded by an 8-foot high chain link fence, which keeps people twenty, maybe thirty feet from the water. This means the ring probably didn’t fall into the lake accidentally — in all likelihood, it was chucked.
There’s some sad, bitter juju on that thing, I tell ya. We should be happy it’s no longer infecting our water supply. We should also keep an eye on that biologist, who is now clearly cursed.