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Using the Common Lisp programming language and data from Box Office Mojo, Zach Beane has created some beautiful infographics, which detail the rise and fall of specific movies during their time at the box office. [Kottke]
Each page displays trends in the top 25 movies at the box office for each weekend in a year. The color is based on the movie’s debut week. Because of that, long-running movies will gradually start to stand out from newer movies with different colors.
Each and every time I hear the PS3 start up sound, I expect it to be Arcade Fire’s “Keep The Car Running” and ponder how I could change it to be so.
After a quick Google search, it looks like I’m not alone.
Gothamist posted a great interview with Philippe Petit, the subject of the upcoming film Man on Wire, about his famous walk between the Twin Towers in 1974.
The movie begins playing across the nation August 8.
This past weekend in the Dallas suburb of Flower Mound three teenagers beat up a 14-year old Subway employee working in a “giant sandwich” costume. They then stole his costume and fled the scene only to be caught a short time later.
Police caught the trio after a witness took down the license plate of the Nissan fleeing the shop around lunchtime in the 2200 block of Justin Road in Flower Mound. An officer called the car’s owner, who said his son, Daniel, was driving. The father then told his son to meet with police at the scene, where he was arrested. No money was taken.
I find it funny that the journalist felt it necessary to used the word “giant” when describing the sandwich costume. You know, just to clarify.
Rex Sorgatz of Fimoculous initiated a fascinating discussion regarding the legal differences between pornography and prostitution.
It seems an obvious paradox that both acts are essentially the same: sex in exchange for money. However, there is of course one key difference: a camera.
Culturally speaking, this appears to be an extremely revealing detail of the modern psychology. Sex for money is legal only if it’s recorded and distributed. The camera, it would seem, validates everything.
A handful of comments have noted other legal conflicts and contradictions in defining the difference between pornography and prostitution.
Obama’s expert design team recently designed a poster for his Berlin visit, which shows a heavy influence of 1920s-era German “industrial design.” [Quipsologies]
Republicians call it “arrogant” and say it reinforces a “messiah complex.” I call it awesome and extremely smart.
Nathan Myhrvold continues his tales of travelling through the Nordic countries with a stop in Greenland. Myhrvold talks about the nation’s efforts for independence from Denmark, how ice — which covers 84% of the country — prevents economical development and what it’s like to eat… polar bear. [WhatILearnedToday]
However, this case was a bit different. Polar bears live on pack ice (i.e. ice that forms on top of the sea rather than on land) far to the north of where I was in south Greenland. When the pack ice breaks up in the spring, some bears get marooned on floating islands of pack ice and ride them south. The two bears that wound up in Iceland did that. Once they reach the south, they are doomed — there is no pack ice so they can’t hunt seals. They starve to death.
Los Angeles photographer Jen Gotch created an interesting project called “Defaced”. [DigitalCrushes]
Using a permanent marker she captions her polaroids, adding her thoughts to remember that moment by.
Dear TV on the Radio,
Let me preface this by saying I’m really looking forward to your new record. I’ve enjoyed your past releases and believe the band members are smart and effective musicians.
That being said, I feel the use of the comma in the album title, Dear Science,, is asking for unnecessary trouble.
Journalists need so very little to distract them from the substance of a record. If you wear silly outfits or white shoes or have nearly any animal in your name, they’ll spend a paragraph of the review ragging you about it. Though it emphasizes it as a letter introduction, keeping the comma is begging to have people talk just about it.
Garrison
I’d like to see someone use a tool like Idée’s Multicolr Search Lab to create diptychs or triptychs that also work to explain basic concepts of color theory. [MareenFischinger]
I assume it’s already out there. Photographers are pretty smart and this idea surely isn’t new or unique.
I think there should be something similar to Muphry’s Law for complexion or physical appearance.
Reid’s Law: Allowing yourself to fixate on the blemish(es) of another is asking for some of your own.
New York Times’ T Magazine has a great series of short interviews with actors Seth Rogen, James Franco and others. [Mark]
They are shot in black and white so you can tell they’re serious.
I also really love Rogen’s explanation of the root for all male actions.
Dr. Michael DeBakey, the man whose research and surgical efforts forever changed many processes related to heart surgery, passed away last Friday at the age of 99.
In March, Dr. DeBakey was interviewed by Esquire for their “State of the American Man” feature, in which they interviewed men born each decade.
In addition, he contruibuted to Esquire’s “What I’ve Learned” series.
If world leaders were doctors, I think they would be more concerned with the welfare of people. There would be less poverty. There would be medical care for everybody, no matter whether people paid for it or not.
In any good society, every member should be interested in the health of every other member. Because if any member is unhealthy, it’s a burden on the society.
Focused on the death of Tony Snow and in turn sidelining the efforts (60,000 operations) and impact of Dr. DeBakey (creation of more than 70 surgical instruments), Merlin describes his frustration and disappoint.
