F is for Fail is a short film about the creative process, and the failure we always encounter, but usually overcome. Told using the alphabet, each letter informs us of the state of the protagonist’s creativity/state of mind. Each letter has two words associated with it (except A and Z); sometimes the positive word overpowers the negative word, and vice-versa.
A long exposure photograph of the Tempest arcade game. Rad. From a series of photographs at rosemariefiore.com.
An interesting study by COLOURlover has shown that the dominant color in Twitter profile designs is blue. Does this mean Twitter’s default color is influencing its users’ design decisions? I’ve personally noticed WAY too much turquoisish sky blue on the web for a while now, so my guess would be yes. [click to continue…]
This image from the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys captures hot stellar winds carving away at pillars of cold gas, like ice sculptors wielding torches.
These one-light-year-tall pillars of cold hydrogen and dust are located 7,500 light-years away in the Carina Nebula. Violent stellar winds and powerful radiation from massive stars are sculpting the surrounding nebula. Inside the dense structures, new stars may be born.
Awesome. One-light-year-tall pillars. 7,500 light years away. I haven’t done the math, but it’s pretty mind-numbing to think that that these things were probably evaporated and gone by something like 5,000 years ago. Chew on that one awhile.
In theaters October 1, ‘The Social Network’ gives us a look at the history and origin of Facebook. Could conceivably have been entitled ‘The Invention that Ultimately Changed Our Lives Forever’, but that’s probably a conversation best saved for another time.
More awesomeness that you may have missed. Yesterday’s Google Doodle paid homage to Agatha Christie for her 120th birthday.
This makes me think back to when I was about nine or ten years old when I took a trip with the family to the Grand Canyon. One night we stayed in for some TV and caught Death on the Nile starring Peter Ustinov and Mia Farrow. I was captivated.
Believe it or not, “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.” is a grammatically valid sentence in the English language, and is used as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs. In not so many words, it’s saying, “Bison from Buffalo, New York, who are intimidated by other bison in their community also happen to intimidate other bison in their community.”
A simplified parse tree:
Simplified parse tree for “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo”. Key: PN = proper noun; N = noun; V = verb; NP = noun phrase; RC = relative clause; VP = verb phrase; S = sentence.
A traditional sentence diagram:
a. the city of Buffalo, New York, which is used as a noun adjunct in the sentence and is followed by the animal; n. the noun buffalo, an animal, in the plural (equivalent to “buffaloes” or “buffalos”), in order to avoid articles; v. the verb “buffalo” meaning to bully, confuse, deceive, or intimidate.
(via Andreas)
Ray Bradbury was awarded a Pulitzer Prize Citation from the 2007 Pulitzer Committee for his contribution to American literature. Here’s a two-minute clip of Bradbury’s message to would-be writers in Santa Barbara CA on 06.24.2006.
RELATED: This was taped exactly thirty-one months before this.
To those for which it is not yet clear, I’m living a life where each day is like going to bed with the Snuggle Fabric Softener Bear.
