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GamesArchive for August, 2011
Once upon a time, it seemed as if I spent most of my time on this blog bemoaning the sudden ubiquity of Hollywood remakes. I thought that the critics were with me on this one — until today, when I saw that Salon has basically surrendered to the remake juggernaut. The title of the article? “Why We Should Give Remakes a Chance.” Et tu, Salon? It sure seems so.
Why Dragon*Con’s ‘No Badge, No Entry’ Policy Is a Good Thing
by Tracy V. Wilson | August 31, 2011
Creative Loafing is spreading the word about a tweak to Dragon*Con‘s badge policy this year. Basically, if you don’t have a badge, you can’t get into the host hotels, not even into the public areas where, in past years, you could hang out, have a drink and watch the crowd.
Camping in an Old Vacuum Factory Building
by Amanda Arnold | August 31, 2011
OK, so this isn’t exactly camping. After all, there are “luxurious bathrooms” on the premises, according to Treehugger. But this isn’t like sleeping at the Days Inn, either. Your “room” will be a delightfully revamped vintage camper or a cabin. Your “great outdoors” will be the inside of an old vacuum-cleaner factory.
The Black Death is now (Likely) Extinct (Perhaps)
by Josh Clark | August 31, 2011
You may now breathe a small sigh of relief; if you are the type to believe what you read in studies from the University of Tübingen, at least: The bacteria thought to be behind the Black Death plague that killed 50 million people in Europe and Asia in about five years in the middle of the 14th century is thought to now be extinct. Oh, there are related versions of the bacteria, Yersinia pestis, alive and well today. As many as 2,000 people die from it around the world each year. But the particularly virulent form that swept across the East like a black death, that one is probably no longer around.
In the animal kingdom, if you’ve got a cute mug you just scored yourself a “pass” as a potential meal for most humans. But if your homo sapien overlords aren’t circulating photos of you with funny captions, or if you’re widely feared, you’re probably on the menu — or at the very least persona non [...]
Austin Bat Spectacle Attracts Crowds
by Amanda Arnold | August 30, 2011
One and a half million. That’s how many bats empty from the underside of Austin’s Congress Street Bridge each night. In fact, the sky becomes so thick with bats that local radar thinks it’s detecting weather.
You might think Texan locals would be creeped out by a downtown bat colony, but instead folks gather on the bridge at dusk to enjoy the spectacle.
Turns out the Amazon River has a wider, slower, subterranean twin.
Brazilian scientists discovered the river about two and a half miles (4 kilometers) beneath the mighty Amazon in the South American Amazon Basin. It flows west to east, just like the Amazon, and is about the same length (3,728 miles/6,000 kilometers). But that’s where the rivers’ twinularities end.
I admit, my headline is an example of baiting an audience. But if you’ve ever wondered why people who love certain brands react in a seemingly irrational way whenever that brand receives criticism, read on. According to research performed by Shirley Cheng, Tiffany White and Lan Chaplin, the reason discussions about brands often turn into enormous flame wars is because we incorporate the brands we love into our own self-image. When someone else criticizes or attacks a brand we love, we feel as if we ourselves are under attack. That’s why so many people respond passionately to attacks on brands — it’s a matter of self-defense.
Cute Animal Friday: Ring-tailed Lemur
by Amanda Arnold | August 26, 2011
This is what lemurs do.
Typically in mobs. Very, very angry mobs. Just kidding. Here’s the deal: It gets cold at night in the Madagascar forest, and a lemur needs to warm up before he or she starts foraging for breakfast. So the ring-tailed lemur, who, incidentally, can purr, meow, howl and bark, goes out to an open space in the forest with his or her mob of lemur buddies and sits like this …
It’s been a rough week for the tobacco companies on EurekAlert! I can tell you. All in a single day, no less than three (3) papers scrutinizing Big Tobacco were published in the Public Library of Science’s journal PLoS Medicine. Must have been a special issue or something.
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
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The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Have a Coke and a Smile
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Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Space Music: DJ Food and ‘The Search Engine’
- Stuff to Blow Your Mind: Hug it Out
- Space Music: Jay-Z and Beyoncé to Film Music Video in Orbit
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
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The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
- Tips for Using Bluetooth in the Car
How-to Stuff
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
- How to Know When It’s Time for a New Pet
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 36: Now Available in 3-D
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 35: Let’s do brunch!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 34: Play it again, Sam
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
