August 2009
10 posts
British Accents →
A British Library resource that lets you hear from hundreds of audio samples from the around the UK, describing in great and fascinating detail the peculiar features of each accent and how it is evolving. Has a rather handsome looking interface as well, as you navigate round a map of the UK listening to interesting voices along the way.
Personas →
Via ricoeurian. This is an absolutely fascinating tool created by the MIT Media Lab that tells you what the internet thinks of you. I’m quite lucky in that not many people have the combination of a Western first name and an Indian surname so my results were pretty easy to decipher, but still, this is hugely impressive. Love the design, love the service.
Stephen Fry on America →
Lord Fry makes it clear why he is such a legend in this lecture on America’s place in the world written for the Royal Geographical Society. Witty, erudite, insightful, joyous, a masterful use of language, it has to be one of the best things I have read about the US in years.
Timetric Warheads →
Timetric is a service from UK start up Inkling. It’s basically a visualiasation tool for data over time, allowing comparisons etc. Simple but clever. Here is a plot of the number of nuclear warheads on eath, a graph that peaks in 1985 when there were over 70k nuclear warheads kicking about in bunkers and submarines across the globe. 70k. Yes, mental.
The Pynch Speaks Out, Sort Of →
All time most brilliant genius living author and world beating recluse Thomas Pynchon has gone public - with the soundtrack for his new book Inherent Vice. Mr. Pynchon, if you’re out there, reading this: you are my hero. Music, so much better than an interview.
