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buzzfeedfood: You’ll never have to buy these 30 foods again.

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:31:15 -0700

You’ll never have to buy these 30 foods again.

atlasobscura: Ever heard of the Relampago de Catatumbo,...

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:30:22 -0700

Ever heard of the Relampago de Catatumbo, a.k.a. ”Lightning Lake”?

There’s something strange in the air where the Catatumbo River flows into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela… For 140 to 160 nights out of the year, for 10 hours at a time, the sky above the river is pierced by almost constant lightning, producing as many as 280 strikes per hour.

Known as the “Relampago del Catatumbo,” this lightning storm has been raging, on and off, for as long a people can remember. It was first written about in the 1597 poem “The Dragontea” by Lope de Vega. De Vega tells of Sir Francis Drake’s 1595 attempt to take the city of Maracaibo by night, only to have his plans foiled when the lightning storm’s flashes gave away his position to the city’s defenders.

This happened again on July 24, 1823, when, during the Venezuelan War of Independence, Spanish ships were revealed by the lightning and defeated by the Simón Bolívar’s upstart navy.

In fact, the lightning, visible from 400 kilometers away, is so regular that it’s been used as a navigation aid by ships and is known among sailors as the “Maracaibo Beacon.” Interestingly, generally little to no sound accompanies this fantastic light show, as the lightning moves from cloud to cloud—far, far above the ground.

But that’s not the whole story…

semartsposse: South El Monte Arts Posse’s community literary...

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:24:51 -0700

semartsposse:

South El Monte Arts Posse’s community literary event, A Birthday Party for Our Books. More photos on your FB page. Video coming soon :)

pacificstand: The Science of Psychics A 2005 Gallup poll found...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:21:07 -0700

pacificstand:

The Science of Psychics

A 2005 Gallup poll found that 26 percent of Americans answered “yes” to believing in “the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future.”
A sizable chunk of America believes in ESP—despite the only evidence behind it being one truly bizarre study.

Read more in Pacific Standard

atlasobscura: But there is no female counterpart in our culture...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:20:29 -0700

atlasobscura:

But there is no female counterpart in our culture to Ishmael or Huck Finn. There is no Dean Moriarty, Sal, or even a Fuckhead. It sounds like a doctoral crisis, but it’s not. As a fifteen-year-old hitchhiker, my survival depended upon other people’s ability to envision a possible future for me. Without a Melvillean or Kerouacian framework, or at least some kind of narrative to spell out a potential beyond death, none of my resourcefulness or curiosity was recognizable, and therefore I was unrecognizable.

True quest is about agency, and the capacity to be driven past one’s limits in pursuit of something greater. It’s about desire that extends beyond what we may know about who we are. It’s a test of mettle, a destiny. A man with a quest, internal or external, makes the choice at every stage about whether to endure the consequences or turn back, and that choice is imbued with heroism. Women, however, are restricted to a single tragic or fatal choice. We trace all of their failures, as well as the dangers that befall them, back to this foundational moment of sin or tragedy, instead of linking these encounters and moments in a narrative of exploration that allows for an outcome which can unite these individual choices in any heroic way.

I will also admit that I think fixed narratives can be pretty dangerous. As vessels that shape our sense of self, they can be narcotic, limiting, and boring, and our development as humans is directly tied to our ability to cut across these simplistic story lines rather than be enslaved by them. Keystones in the arch under which we pass into a landscape of adolescent narcissism—that is what I think of fixed narratives. But they also keep us safe. They mark our place in society and make sure we’re seen. Therefore, the only thing more dangerous than having simplistic narratives is having no narrative at all, which is deadly.

…An excerpt from Green Screen: The Lack of Female Road Narratives and Why it Matters, a brilliantly examined longread that addresses a fundamental element of travel. We recommend you read the whole thing. It’s important.

theparisreview: André Kertész: On Reading

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:19:56 -0700

theparisreview:

André Kertész: On Reading

reuters: The dog was guarding its deceased owner. It’s been...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:18:28 -0700

reuters:

The dog was guarding its deceased owner. It’s been taken to shelter; deputy plans on adopting.
— Oklahoma County Sheriff (@OkCountySheriff) May 21, 2013 [edited]

nevver: Before and after

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:17:15 -0700

nevver:

Before and after

"The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:16:10 -0700

“The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘jif.’ End of story.”

- Steve Wilhite, the creator of the GIF, chiming in on the pronunciation of the word. (As everyone knows, choosy memes choose “jif.”) Wilhite, a former CompuServe employee, created the format in 1987 and is to receive an award for his creation tonight. (via shortformblog)

fastcompany: Enjoy David Foster Wallace’s“This is...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:15:48 -0700

fastcompany:

Enjoy David Foster Wallace’s“This is water,” while you stumble around the kitchen making your coffee this morning.

Yes commencement speeches are often little more than platitudes but here are the 3 Most Inspiring Graduation Speeches Ever.

architizer: Astounding Tilt-Shift Perspectives Of World...

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:27:32 -0700

Photo: Richard Silver. Machu Picchu, Peru.

Photo: Richard Silver. World Trade Center Memorial, New York City.

Photo: Richard Silver. Taj Mahal, India.

Photo: Richard Silver. Brooklyn Bridge, New York City.

Photo: Richard Silver. Moai of Easter Island, Chile.

Photo: Richard Silver. Houses in Reykjavik, Iceland.

architizer:

Astounding Tilt-Shift Perspectives Of World Monuments!

Anyone who’s traveled to popular touristic sites knows the feeling of being caught in the crossfire of countless camera lenses—the annoyed (and annoying) jockeying to capture the perfect shot…which in most cases looks exactly like everyone else’s. When we stumbled across Richard Silver’s photographs of iconic monuments, we were shocked—caught in the same tourist hustle, Silver manages to give us a new perspective on famous landmarks we didn’t think possible. Read more!

fastcompany: The 3 Best Features Of Flickr’s Massive...

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:25:38 -0700

fastcompany:

The 3 Best Features Of Flickr’s Massive Redesign

Following the announcement of its acquisition of Tumblr, Yahoo rolled out a dramatic new redesign of the former photo sharing star Flickr.

Here are three aspects of the new design that are especially smart.

1. Death to thumbnails.

2. Photo first.

3. Terabytes for all.

Here’s the full story.

usclibraries: View of Broadway looking north from Olympic...

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:32:47 -0700

usclibraries:

View of Broadway looking north from Olympic Boulevard (then Tenth Street), circa 1929. The United Artists Theatre is visible on the left. In the distance behind it is future site of the Art Deco-style Eastern Columbia building, completed in 1930.

Part of the Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection in the USC Digital Library.

theatlantic: In Focus: 2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:48:23 -0700

theatlantic:

In Focus: 2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

The 25th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is under way, and entries will be accepted for another six weeks, until June 30, 2013. First prize winner will receive a 10-day Galapagos expedition for two. National Geographic was once more kind enough to allow me to share some of the early entries with you here, gathered from four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place, and Spontaneous Moments. Photos and captions by the photographers.

See more. [Images: National Geographic Traveler Contest]

"The truth is, most of us discover where we are headed when we arrive."

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:44:20 -0700

“The truth is, most of us discover where we are headed when we arrive.”

- Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson in his timeless Kenyon College commencement address, May 20, 1990. (via explore-blog)

think-progress: The real reason Yahoo bought Tumblr: It’s about...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:51:53 -0700

think-progress:

The real reason Yahoo bought Tumblr: It’s about young women.

shortformblog: brooklynmutt: Hat tip to this headline...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:51:36 -0700

shortformblog:

brooklynmutt:

Hat tip to this headline writer.

*nod*

Video

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:55:28 -0700

"The myth of the overnight success is just that – a myth."

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:04:53 -0700

“The myth of the overnight success is just that – a myth.”

- Seth Godin

Alexander Graham Bell knew this when he famously said, “It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider … who is bound to succeed in the greatest degree.”

Thomas Edison knew this when he proclaimed, “Success is the product of the severest kind of mental and physical application.”

Amelia E. Barr knew this when she asserted, “Everything good needs time.”
(via explore-blog)

"Now all you can do is wait. It must be hard for you, but there is a right time for everything. Like..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:02:02 -0700

“Now all you can do is wait. It must be hard for you, but there is a right time for everything. Like the ebb and flow of tides. No one can do anything to change them. When it is time to wait, you must wait.”

- Haruki Murakami, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle (via sorakeem)