Salvador dalis

Making the argument that a video game contains some surreal elements may seem like a no-brainer. After all, the majority of video games take place in worlds that look nothing like our own and give players abilities that have little connection to the “real.” But when it comes to the Super Mario Bros. franchise, surreal elements are pretty much all you’ve got. You play as an Italian plumber who punches bricks for coins, stomps on angry walking mushrooms, and occasionally dons a tanuki suit, all while trying to rescue a princess from a giant, fire-breathing turtle monster. It’s enough to make Dalí’s mustache curl. In the latest video from the PBS Idea Channel, host Mike Rugnetta makes the case that Mario games not only contain aesthetic similarities to surrealism, but that the franchise may actually be the spiritual successor to the surrealist movement’s philosophy as a whole. As described in André Breton’s 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, the … [Read more...] about Making the case for

Brazil’s BR-262 highway cuts across the country from east to west, connecting the border with Bolivia to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a busy road, carrying all manner of industrial products towards the shore for shipment. That should be a good thing, and for the most part, it is– unless you’re an anteater. The Giant Anteater, perhaps more famous as Salvador Dalí’s conspicuous Paris Metro companion, is particularly susceptible to getting hit by those big trucks. Slow because of the long claws on their front paws, the massive insectivores are sitting ducks as they attempt to cross major roads like BR-262. And the results have been catastrophic. Back in 2013, a husband and wife team of road ecologists found 124 anteater carcasses while looking for armadillos, massively increasing scrutiny of roads’ impact on the already endangered species. Advertisement This week, the Atlantic’s Ben Goldfarb published a substantial piece going into great … [Read more...] about A Brazilian Highway Is Killing Its Giant Anteaters

I recently decided that I would answer the beckoning call of the wild by taking my Aston Martin on an 800-mile road trip to Vermont and back. Advertisement The call of the wild is no stranger to us wanderers. It has been tempting us for hundreds of years in a variety of ways: the alluring concept of the open terrain, the enticing sound of an empty forest, the romantic idea of living off the land without any modern conveniences. Or, in my case, a mid-afternoon Tweet from a tire company. Here’s what happened. A few weeks ago, I posted a column and a video where I drove my Aston Martin in the snow. Now, I thought you guys would find this hilarious, because let’s be honest: how many times have you seen an idiot in an Aston Martin slide into a snow bank? The answer is twice, because it happened twice in that video. But you didn’t find it hilarious. Instead, you got mad – very mad – because I attempted my little snow adventure without winter tires. I … [Read more...] about I’m Taking My Aston Martin On An 800-Mile Road Trip To Vermont

2012 has been a good year for comedy podcasts. It seemed like there were more of them than ever, and IFC optioned two of the most popular ones for television: WTF With Marc Maron and Comedy Bang Bang. Whereas WTF will be a sitcom based on Maron’s life (as a guy who records podcasts in his garage), Comedy Bang Bang is a televised re-imagining of its podcast alter ego. Hosted by creator Scott Aukerman, the show tweaks components of the podcast: a loose, generally silly interview with a guest (who’s later joined by one of the show’s comic characters) and goofy games. Comedian-musician Reggie Watts joins Aukerman as a one-man band, and the show has a more pronounced inclination toward sketch comedy—particularly the surreal silliness of Mr. Show, where Aukerman worked as a writer. (Aukerman also co-created and directs the popular web series Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis.) It’s one of the strangest, funniest shows on TV this summer—exactly what … [Read more...] about Comedy Bang Bang

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is here. As we predicted, Apple's desktop operating system is going in the same direction as the iPad—and for good reason. Here is what is coming and why it's good for you. Advertisement Mac OS X Lion is another step in the road to a new—or better said, renewed—computer interface paradigm: Modal computing. And along the way, Apple is taking some of the most successful parts of iOS, like the App Store—with automatic installation of applications—and the springboard (rechristened Launchpad in Lion). They are also introducing new user interface elements, like Mission Control, to help solve the problems that modal interfaces may bring. It also brings touch closer to the desktop, like the Magic Tracpad is paving the way in the hardware front. All the pieces are coming together. Advertisement Full screen mode and modal computing Fullscreen mode is, for me, the most important aspect of the new operating system. All apps will be able to … [Read more...] about How Mac OS X Lion Brings the Best of iPad to Your Mac