flickering pictures

Though it’s not exactly independent, the tiny Republic of Kalmykia is a self-governing member state of the Russian Federation. Located just west of the Caspian Sea and not far from Ukraine, it’s a bit of an oddity in über-secular Russia for the prominence that Kalmykian leaders give to spirituality — all the more so because [...]

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Can someone explain to me what this is? I *think* it’s a series of creepily beautiful flash games that may or may not have any kind of goal or purpose. Either that or a real-life version of fear.com. If someone’s trying to sell something here, they’re certainly not advertising it. What is this site? Why [...]

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One of the many the many wonderful things about living in Montreal is that stuff like this makes news here. Following a poll of 5.6 million board gamers around the world, the latest version of Hasbro’s time-honoured Monopoly game will feature Montreal in place of Boardwalk, the most fancypants property in the game. Montreal narrowly [...]

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Back in April, I posted a photo montage of a man who’d taken a photo of himself every day for six years, set to Carly Comando’s darkly brilliant “Every Day” piano instrumental. To take a break from the doom, gloom and penis-enlarger obituaries that have dominated this site for the last few days, I thought [...]

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I be liking chess Cuz chess is crazy, right there, that’s the ultimate It’s like a great hobby right there, playing chess The board, the pieces, the squares, the movement You know, war, capturing, thinking, strategy Planning, music, it’s hip-hop, and sports It’s life, it’s reality Those are the last lines in GZA’s “Queen’s Gambit,” [...]

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You know the old joke: “What do you get when you cross Vincent Price, Michael Jackson, 1,500 Filipino inmates and a transvestite?” I think I missed the boat on this one, and some of you have probably already seen this. But sweet mercy it’s fantastic. If you ever go to jail in the Philippines, pray [...]

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Whether you’re a a chivalrous hero or a dastardly black knight, CatapultKits.com sells the right siege weapon for you, from onagers to catapults, trebuchets to ballistae. Many items are available in pint-sized desktop format, so you can lob projectiles over cubicle walls at your co-workers. They’ll never know it was you — unless you happen [...]

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Last week we linked to the incredible story of how German saboteurs landed on the shores of Long Island in World War II and nearly blew up landmarks in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This week, I further bolster my history geek credentials with the story of how the British army worked with John [...]

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Probably not. But a tech company called Emotiv is putting the finishing touches on its “Epoc,” a wireless hands-free device that lets you control a computer using the power of your mind. The image above is of the super-spiffy prototype, while the one at right is a shot of the consumer version. From Kotaku: “At [...]

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The house was on Inman Street, near Cambridge’s Central Square. Peter Woit recalls the morning he came downstairs and found his roommate obviously upset. “John, what’s wrong?,” he asked. Have you seen a dirty pink laundry bag?” came the response. “No, why?” “There was $80,000 in it.” According to an Xcomony write-up, those are the [...]

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