Saturday, May 05, 2012
Kowloon Walled City
Once thought to be the most densely populated place on Earth, with 50,000 people crammed into only a few blocks, these fascinating pictures give a rare insight into the lives of those who lived Kowloon Walled City.
Taken by Canadian photographer Greg Girard in collaboration with Ian Lamboth the pair spent five years familiarising themselves with the notorious Chinese city before it was demolished in 1992.
The city was a phenomenon with 33,000 families and businesses living in more than 300 interconnected high-rise buildings, all constructed without contributions from a single architect.
I've posted about this place before... Also here...
Taken by Canadian photographer Greg Girard in collaboration with Ian Lamboth the pair spent five years familiarising themselves with the notorious Chinese city before it was demolished in 1992.
The city was a phenomenon with 33,000 families and businesses living in more than 300 interconnected high-rise buildings, all constructed without contributions from a single architect.
I've posted about this place before... Also here...
Friday, May 04, 2012
Lottery Winners Wearing Silly Masks
Why do Chinese lottery winners wear such silly costumes? Like every single country in the entire world, China is pretty poor (relatively-speaking). They also have a dearth of police protection. So, when people win a lot of money, most would prefer to keep it low-key to avoid thieves. However, since they have to be on camera win they win to do free publicity for the lottery, it’s not unusual to see Chinese lottery winners wearing outfits that imply they got their giant checks by trick-or-treating. We dug up twenty of the best Chinese costumes from lottery winners:
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Space Shuttle Launch Audio - Play LOUD!!
From The Creator:
You need a sound system with a lot of power and a great sub (turned up to house shaking level) to get the right effect of this video. I made this for all the people who dreamed of seeing a launch in person but were never able to make the trip themselves (myself included).
Using dozens of different video sources and countless audio versions of Shuttle launches I mixed this little clip together to mimic as close an experience to the real thing as I could. I know that the exact sequence of countdown events is somewhat compressed and not time-accurate but I was going more for the 'feel' of a high energy launch experience rather than a technical documentary. Throttle Up and SRB Separation are sounds as might be heard from onboard acoustic transducers picking up resonant vibration in the vehicle's structure.
Please take care not to damage your sound equipment during playback. I did not do anything to boost the low frequency roar of the Shuttle during liftoff but the SRB and SSME thrust noise may be taxing to even high quality sub-woofers and speaker cones if played too loud.
For those who sit through the last few frames you can catch a glimpse of my home theater system I built a couple of years ago. This video really is best viewed at 165 inches or better!
How to Fix the Economy - and Why It's Easier Than You Think
Four years after the start of the Great Recession, nobody would mistake U.S. economy for a thrumming engine of growth, prosperity, and human flourishing. Sure, we're officially out of "recession." But the recovery is painfully slow and uneven, and 24 million Americans are still unemployed or underemployed. There's a lot of pain out there, and a lot of potential going to waste.
The worst part? It doesn't have to be this way. Or so says Paul Krugman. In a new book, End This Depression Now!, the Nobel-winning economist and New York Times columnist makes an urgent, even passionate case that our economic problems are, at root, fairly simple, and we have the knowledge and the tools to solve them. We've been here before, Krugman argues, during the Great Depression, and the actions that got us out of that crisis will get us out of this one, too.
The worst part? It doesn't have to be this way. Or so says Paul Krugman. In a new book, End This Depression Now!, the Nobel-winning economist and New York Times columnist makes an urgent, even passionate case that our economic problems are, at root, fairly simple, and we have the knowledge and the tools to solve them. We've been here before, Krugman argues, during the Great Depression, and the actions that got us out of that crisis will get us out of this one, too.
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