24 5 / 2013
What Does Terrorism Mean in 2013? An Interview with Glenn Greenwald
VICE: What do you think about the media reaction to the Woolwich murder?
Glen Greenwald: Media outlets reacted pretty uniformly to the attack. They reacted the way that media outlets typically do to these kinds of incidents, which is by simply stating that it was a terrorist attack and channeling outrage about the unprecedented, barbaric act that everyone saw take place.Do you think it was a “terrorist” attack?
What the word terrorism typically means in reality, functionally, when it’s most commonly used by our media, is that the perpetrators are Muslim, and that they are driven by either religious or political motivations. I think that when it became clear that the perpetrators were Muslim (they said “Allah Akbar” during the attack), then media outlets instantly said that this was an act of terror, and politicians sort of did at the same time. The premise here is that if the violence is perpetrated by Muslims against the West, for a political cause, then by definition it’s terrorism, but not the other way around. It’s very typical to call this a terrorist attack without including all sorts of acts of violence that the US and UK has routinely engaged in over the last decade.
24 5 / 2013
If Earth Had Rings
First off, they would be really pretty to look at. They would also dominate the sky in both night and day at exactly the same place as they would never rise nor set. And at night you would see the Earth’s shadow swing across the rings, like in the 4th photo here.
However, life would be very different on Earth if this were the case. Nocturnal animals would have a hard time being nocturnal, as the light reflecting from the rings would illuminate the night.
Because we are closer to the Sun than Saturn is, the rings would be more rocky than ice, making them less bright but still pretty bright. In fact, you would see far less stars at night (living anywhere other than the equator or the arctic circle) because of the light pollution and not to mention ruin most meteor showers because of that.
During the day the rings would block sunlight in certain regions of the planet creating wild weather cycles and effecting plant life as well. So basically, they would be definitely pretty to look at but they would also make a whole lot of things screwy.
Illustrations by Ron Miller // io9
— Click the photos for captionsDANGIT EARTH! WHY YOU NO HAVE RINGS!
24 5 / 2013
22 5 / 2013
"Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences. (Roy Ascott’s phrase.) That solves a lot of problems: we don’t have to argue whether photographs are art, or whether performances are art, or whether Carl Andre’s bricks or Andrew Serranos’s piss or Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’ are art, because we say, ‘Art is something that happens, a process, not a quality, and all sorts of things can make it happen.’ … [W]hat makes a work of art ‘good’ for you is not something that is already ‘inside’ it, but something that happens inside you — so the value of the work lies in the degree to which it can help you have the kind of experience that you call art."
Brian Eno (via jessiethatcher)
I could reblog/post this every day as a constant reminder.
(via notational)
Amen, Eno.
(via absolumentmoderne)
(via absolumentmoderne)
22 5 / 2013
vitreousrose submitted this photo with the comment “My best friend Carolyn. We were doing a photoshoot of Carolyn’s goth garb in a cemetary that has graves as far back as 1700. Then we saw a tree… And we knew she had to get in it. It was too perfect.”
Yes, that tree is in the perfect location - surrounded by gravestones and in front of what I assume is a church. We haven’t had a goth loli inspired outfit for a while so bonus points for that. She looks quite at home up the tree, she’s a reasonable height, and she’s not smiling. It’s daylight but our goth is partially in the shade. Bonus points for the excellent tree placement and the cute socks and boots.
Aaaand apparently it’s World Goth Day again (22nd of May) where we celebrate the world of goths. As every day is goth day for me, I’m celebrating by being alive. For you non-goths, I suggest you buy your local goth a drink and compliment them on their hair, or you could buy yourself some decent eyeliner to support the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.
4.8 out of 5 - I’m waiting for my drinks and compliments, thanks.
I AM ACTUALLY SCREAMING
I GOT A 4.8 MY LIFE FEELS VALIDATED
CAROLYN WINS AAALLLLLL
