National Geographic‘s May 2012 article on the conservation issues facing koalas has reduced me to a gushing 8-year-old. Seriously, these guys are cute. And the fact that they’re being attacked by dogs and run over by automobiles is heartbreaking. Nature, I know you’re not the sentimental sort, but can’t you just give us this one?
All posts by James
“Hey Jealousy” Gets the Supergroup Treatment
I’ve enjoyed the AV Club’s recurring “Undercover” series, where they have bands come in to cover songs picked by their readers. (Wye Oak’s cover of the Kinks’ “Strangers” is probably the highlight.)
Today offered another fun one as Cursive and Cymbals Eat Guitars teamed up to cover the Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy,” one of my all-time guilty pleasures. Fun stuff.)
Match Point
They stood near the rail, an infirm man and his only child, and said their goodbyes. As they were speaking, one of the ship’s enormous smokestacks came crashing down. Dick darted out of the way. Charles was crushed, instantly killed. At that point Dick jumped into the ocean.
In the April 2 Sports Illustrated, L. Jon Wertheim has a fascinating story about two Hall of Fame tennis players who survived the sinking of the Titanic, played each other three months later and never quite revisited their ordeal on the ocean.
Lego Reductions of Comic/Cartoon Characters
A new Lego ad campaign by German agency Jung von Matt uses the famous rectangles and squares to evoke some famous characters. Here’s one example; Comics Alliance has a full gallery.
Strolling the Streets of Ancient Rome
I’m a sucker for stuff like this–the Rome Reborn project is dedicated to creating a virtual model of Rome as it stood in 320. This video tour swoops you past all the sites that gave you blisters if you’ve visited the Eternal City. I liked it a lot, even as the music and animation made me feel like I’d just built a new wonder in Civilization.
Rome Reborn 2.2: A Tour of Ancient Rome in 320 CE from Bernard Frischer on Vimeo.
ht: Open Culture