A 1997 conference of musicians and philosophers discussed the implications of his instruction to play the piece "as slow as possible", given that an organ imposes virtually no time limits. A project emerged to perform the piece so that it would take a total of 639 years to play. (There's a note change tomorrow.)

List of snowclones. (A snowclone is a a type of formula-based cliché that uses an old idiom in a new context.)

The Korean wave refers to the popularity of South Korean popular culture in other Asian countries; it has been likened to the British Invasion.

In the Soviet Union, three Winnie the Pooh stories were made into celebrated cartoons by Soyuzmultfilm. Quotes and songs from the films are still a staple of Russian society.


Vinni Pukh (1969)

The Führerbunker is a common name for a complex of subterranean rooms in Berlin, Germany where Adolf Hitler committed suicide...

In 2005 the location of the bunker was not marked in any way. The immediate area was occupied by a small Chinese restaurant and mini mall while the emergency exit point for the bunker (which had been in the Reichskanzlei gardens) was occupied by a car park.

Good email debate between Wales and a conservative commentator about neutrality, etc.

ROBERT COX [after arguing that people like his son could trust wikipedia too much]: I did ask my son whether he was aware of the editing feature of Wikipedia and, to my surprise, he said yes.

A lot of the angst about Wikipedia involves the expectation that people (especially students, who rely on it heavily) will take it as gospel. But as Cox found out, young people are more likely to understand how wikipedia works, not less, because they haven't spent decades with older editorial structures. (Third-worlders are another group who will likely rely on wikipedia disproportionately. They're used to distrusting what they hear from authorities.)

Worrying Slashdot comment:

As someone who runs a City Wiki, I always felt that what makes a reference wikis work is that there are more people interested in having a NPOV article than people who have a financial interest at stake. However as companies and politicians become more familiar with the wiki movement and the whole anonyminity of it, they are more likely to see how easily you can edit articles as another PR platform and seek to control it. With the resources and ability to dedicate even a full time team to making sure the Wikipedia article keeps them in a good light, I fear we're entering the age where people who are interested in a NPOV are outmanned by those with a profit interest. After all, for years spammers have nearly outmanned those whole try to filter it.

‽

¡Ay, caramba! Dig the ¡.

Shanawdithit (1801 – June 6, 1829) is believed to have been the last surviving member of the Beothuk people.

As the Beothuk are extinct and few written accounts of their language exist, little is known about it.

We Didn't Start the Fire, wikified.

Bonus: 'Although the song ranked #1 in the US, and #7 in the UK, Blender magazine ranked "We Didn't Start the Fire" on its list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever". "We Didn't Start the Fire" also appeared on VH1's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever, a collaboration with Blender.'

Bah. It's a good history lesson, at least, because it juxtaposees pop and high culture, letting you get the gestalt.

Exhaustive article on bicycling as transportation.

Pickpocketing used to be punished by death, but the public hangings were considered prime targets for pickpockets.

Aristasia is a largely imaginary all-female society existing primarily in England. (via)

I'm playing around with a MicroKorg (someone else's). The best part is the vocoder.

The chicken or the egg?

It's wikipedia week at PBS's Mediashift.

More Cowbell.

A webcomic's hilarious Wiki storyline. Start here.