Archive for the 'Collapse' Category
The Technological Disobedience Of Ernesto Oroza
September 15th, 2010Via: VBS TV: In 1991, Cuba’s economy began to implode. “The Special Period in the Time of Peace” was the government’s euphemism for what was a culmination of 30 years worth of isolation. It began in the 60s, with engineers leaving Cuba for the Unites States. Ernesto Oroza, designer and artist, studied the innovations created […]
Zynga’s Secret Dealer for High Value Farmville Addicts
September 13th, 2010Via: Valleywag: The company behind Mafia Wars and Farmville doesn’t like to talk about the sad addicts who fuel its profits. But it does quietly run a special store for them, where imaginary credits are bought with very real bank transfers. The minimum purchase in Zynga’s underground “Platinum Purchase Program” is $500, payable by wire […]
Use of Psychiatric Medications Soaring In Military
September 9th, 2010Via: Navy Times: Use of psychiatric medications among people ages 18 to 34 — mostly active-duty troops and their spouses — is rising at a significantly higher rate than other age groups in the military health care system, according to data newly released to Military Times. Overall, the number of prescriptions filled for psychiatric medications […]
Beware of Greeks Bearing Bonds
September 8th, 2010What a mess. Via: Vanity Fair: In addition to its roughly $400 billion (and growing) of outstanding government debt, the Greek number crunchers had just figured out that their government owed another $800 billion or more in pensions. Add it all up and you got about $1.2 trillion, or more than a quarter-million dollars for […]
Augmented City 3D
September 6th, 2010My guess is that it’s going to look a lot more like this: …but maybe a bit of both. Via: Vimeo / Keiichi Matsuda: Augmented City 3D from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo. The architecture of the contemporary city is no longer simply about the physical space of buildings and landscape, more and more it is […]
New Zealand: Large Earthquake in Christchurch
September 4th, 2010Several people have written in, wondering if we’re ok. We’re fine. We live in the Far North and didn’t even feel it up here. I was awake at the time of the quake, washing nappies, of all things, and it was just another quiet night here. Via: New Zealand Herald: Sewage and water concerns are […]
Baffled White House Economic Adviser Heads Back to Berkeley
September 3rd, 2010Via: Washington Post: It wasn’t the food; it was the entertainment. Christina Romer, chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, was giving what was billed as her “valedictory” before she returns to teach at Berkeley, and she used the swan song to establish four points, each more unnerving than the last: She had no […]
In Japan, Men Take Virtual Girlfriends on Real Vacations
September 3rd, 2010Also: Building the Perfect Kill House with Video Games Via: The Atlantic: Loneliness exists in every society, but only in Japan has emotional isolation become a market for video game manufacturers and tourist resorts. The Wall Street Journal’s Daisuke Wakabayashi reports on a popular game called “LovePlus+,” played on mobile consoles, that simulates the (non-sexual) […]
The Unhealthy Truth: One Mother’s Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America’s Food Supply
September 1st, 2010The Unhealthy Truth: One Mother’s Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America’s Food Supply—and What Every Family Can Do to Protect Itself by Robyn O’Brien
More Than 20,000 American Mortgagees at Palm Beach Convention Center for Loan Modification Event
August 31st, 2010Related/Triage America: Thousands Line Up for Free Health Care at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Via: Guardian: In the pre-dawn darkness of a steamy night of sub-tropical rain, a queue of anxious, soggy people snakes around the palm trees outside a cavernous Florida convention centre. Some have erected camp beds or makeshift tents. All clutch […]
