Wider Angle: Links for 05.01.07

Xeni Jardin posted some great Coachella roundup reports at BoingBoing. Photo by eecue.

In case you missed it, Slate has put out a special issue on the brain. I've been too busy to even read one of these articles, but it's been on my to-read list for days.

Paul Rieckhoff explains that the signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is Traumatic Brain Injury, which occurs when violent physical shifts knock the brain against the skull, and mostly goes undiagnosed. "We're calling for mandatory screenings for all troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Every single one of them. But we need your help. To learn more about TBI, and to join the fight for universal screening, visit www.iava.org."

According to a recent survey, kids download media illegally because they don't trust it to be good enough to pay for it, and if they like it, the rights-restricted copy they could buy would afford them, as the name implies, fewer rights to do what they like.

China is making huge efforts on the global stage (they are the number one exporter of fruits and vegetables in the world), including a burgeoning automotive industry. The one thing missing from Chinese cars, however, is a unique style.

John McCain took a beating on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The new 2nd Ave subway in NYC just may get air conditioning, a luxury the other lines do not afford gross, sweaty, dripping commuters in the summer. Of course, this A/C will probably be installed around 2072.

In American society, and indeed, many other countries, it seems that freedoms must be outlined to be enjoyed. A truly free society requires defining limitations, leaving all else free.

The design group DOMA has just released their new 15-piece Acid Sweeties vinyl toy collection. Vibrant, grotesque, technicolor sass.

Solo Mobile hooked up a few bus stops wirelessly and encouraged people to start up conversations on the giant phones.

I put the Polar Clock on when I'm working and only using one monitor. It's soothing and beautiful, and would make a great screensaver if my desktop were ever inactive. [via Josh Spear]

Hedge fund managers, who essentially do nothing to contribute to society or business development, are making shitloads of cash. Millions and billions. What some people forget is that the money has to come from somewhere.

Stumbled across the Futurama movie page on Amazon.

Video of Richard Dawkins discussing atheism on Bill O'Reilly, mindchecking the King of Spin until he's bruised and bleeding.

Rumor has it that Amazon is readying a DRM-free music store. I can neither confirm nor deny as I'm under NDA.

Learned about this abandoned platform at the Grand Central Station on a great show from NYC TV that aired on Thirteen. The platform was built specifically for President Roosevelt to load his Pierce Arrow onto a train car, ride into the station, and out into a custom-fitted elevator that went straight up to a private floor in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel so no one would see that he was ill.

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How Radio Shack Still In Business.

Tori Amos will say whatever she wants on Dutch TV because she can. Topics include the impropriety of displaying one's vagina for the press to the acquisition of a 12-inch cock. Let's watch, shall we? [YouTube via Stereogum]

Labels: Links