Strictly Business

afrofuturistaffair: metropolarity: afrofuturistaffair: East...

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:33:02 -0400

metropolarity:

afrofuturistaffair:

East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention

12th Annual ECBACC Convention - an annual gathering of comic book artists, writers, their fans and retailers who are interested in discussing, buying and selling comic books, sci-fi, action figures and related material by and / or about Black superheroes / super-powered characters / adventures

AfriCoz Contest - the first costume and cosplay contest celebrating characters of African descent in comic books, sci-fi, fantasy and film

Synergy Reading Workshop facilitated by Metropolarity.net member and Laser Life founder Alex Smith

2013 Glyph Comic Awards - honoring and recognizing those creators making great contributions to the African image in graphic novels, comic strips and comic books

ECBACC S.T.A.R.S (Storytelling That Advances Reading Skills) - a program held at the Free Library of Philadelphia to address the literacy skills of young people by using interactive comic book themed exercises that promote reading as fun and exciting

Yo Philly!

This weekend! Programming schedule here:

http://ecbacc.com/wordpress3/2013/ecbacc-2013-programming/

Film Annex: Using LinkedIn for Social media Film Promotion

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:17:05 -0400

Film Annex: Using LinkedIn for Social media Film Promotion:

filmannex:

New blog in the Social Media Film Promotion 101 series,this time on LinkedIn. Why LinkedIn? I believe that, after Twitter, it is the most useful network for independent filmmakers to use to show their work, and connect with the right people. If Twitter is where you send links to your films…

neil-gaiman: mercurialme: I knew y’all would have a gif set of...

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:06:49 -0400

neil-gaiman:

mercurialme:

I knew y’all would have a gif set of this by morning.

Truth.

coversdaily: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #316

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:05:41 -0400

coversdaily:

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #316

motherboardtv: 11 Governments Are Meeting in Peru to Figure...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:31:38 -0400

motherboardtv:

11 Governments Are Meeting in Peru to Figure Out How They Can Control the Internet

laughterkey: agentgraham: #no one is more frustrated with the...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:23:16 -0400

laughterkey:

agentgraham:

#no one is more frustrated with the state of the human condition than steve harvey is

POT-A-TO

ferrarisheppard: Malcolm X: Make It Plain (Full PBS...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:14:58 -0400

ferrarisheppard:

Malcolm X: Make It Plain (Full PBS Documentary)

lkraul: Brooklyn’s iconic Clock Tower on Main Street, New York,...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:02:20 -0400

lkraul:

Brooklyn’s iconic Clock Tower on Main Street, New York, was transformed into a jaw-dropping triplex penthouse, in the trendy DUMBO (down under the Manhattan bridge overpass) neighborhood in Brooklyn. The 6,813 square feet space gives you 360-degree view, but the most magnificent detail has to be the 14-ft glass clocks on every wall. All those who are house-hunting and have $18 million to spare, don’t snooze!

puppetwrangler: To be honest, I’m not surprised J.J. Abrams...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:01:12 -0400

puppetwrangler:

To be honest, I’m not surprised J.J. Abrams found Star Trek too philosophical. Have you seen his Star Trek movie?

wilwheaton:

jenniferdeguzman:

He said Star Trek is too “philosophical”? Screw that noise.

mechcanuck:

I don’t know when this interview happened but I AM SAD AND ANGRY NOW

The philosophies in Star Trek are kinda part of the actual setting. If you don’t get that, why are you allowed to make Star Trek movies.

Sigh. The whole point of Star Trek is that it’s philosophical. If you don’t want philosophical Science Fiction, there’s plenty of that for you to enjoy, but Star Trek is philosophical. Philosophy is part of Star Trek’s DNA, and if you’re given the captain’s chair, you’d better damn well respect that.

Photo

Wed, 15 May 2013 05:32:47 -0400

life1nmotion: SAOTA | First Crescent

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:23:59 -0400

life1nmotion:

SAOTA | First Crescent

Photo

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:23:18 -0400

rapradar: Jay. Rae.

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:55:17 -0400

rapradar:

Jay. Rae.

deducecanoe: brokaw22: deducecanoe: strawberrypatty: deduceca...

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:52:20 -0400

deducecanoe:

brokaw22:

deducecanoe:

strawberrypatty:

deducecanoe:

angryblackman:

supamuthafuckinvillain:

Shots fired

OH SHIT, SON.

OH SHIT.

MARTHA KENT FIRING SHOTS, SON.

Bruce, Bruce. Martha Kent thinks you’re a nutjob. But you should also have another slice of pie.

Sometimes I don’t know if I like Clark as much as I like his mother.

It’s ok. Bruce likes Mrs. Kent better too.

Am I the only one who just wants to see Mrs. Kent and Alfred hanging out while complaining about their boys?

WRITE THIS FIC

“You’re good. Get better. Stop asking for...

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:30:00 -0400

“You’re good. Get better. Stop asking for things.”

"There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance."

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:07:30 -0400

“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.”

- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, in 2007 (via crissle)

Ali

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:34:01 -0400

Ali

No Trivia @ SPIN: The RIAA's On-Demand Stream Policy is Hostile to Hip-Hop

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:49:16 -0400

No Trivia @ SPIN: The RIAA's On-Demand Stream Policy is Hostile to Hip-Hop:

no-trivia:

Last week, the RIAA announced that streaming (audio and video) would count towards Gold and Platinum record sales. Of course, sites like DatPiff and WorldStar aren’t considered. Here’s why that stinks!

we-are-star-stuff: Who says North is up? Upside Down maps (also...

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:35:53 -0400

we-are-star-stuff:

Who says North is up?

Upside Down maps (also known as South-Up or Reversed maps) offer a completely different perspective of the world we live in.

Technically speaking, even referring to the earth with words like “up” or “down” or comparing places with words “above” or “below” is flawed, considering that the earth is a spherical body (it’s actually slightly “fatter” at the equator) and flying through 3 dimensional space with no reference of up or down. However, the issue of “up” and “down” does become an issue when viewing the surface of the earth projected onto a flat piece of paper (a map). And the effect of the orientation of a map is more significant than you might realize.

As all maps require orientation for reference, the issue of how to layout the map orientation is as old as maps themselves. As map orientation is completely arbitrary, it is not surprising that they differed throughout time periods and regions.

The convention of North-up is usually attributed to the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy (90-168 AD). Justifications for his north-up approach vary. In the middle ages, East was often placed at top. This is the origin of the term “The Orient” to refer to East Asia. During the age of exploration, European cartographers again followed the north-up convention…perhaps because the North Star was their fixed reference point for navigation, or because they wanted (subconsciously or otherwise) to ensure Europe’s claim at the top of the world.

In modern times, reversed maps are made as a learning device or to illustrate Northern Hemisphere bias. Different from simply turning a north-up map upside down, a reversed map has the text oriented to be read with south up.

The famous “Blue Marble” photograph of the Earth taken from on board Apollo 17 was originally oriented with the south pole at the top, with the island of Madagascar visible just left of center, and the continent of Africa at its right. However, the image was turned upside-down to fit the traditional view.

While the orientation of a map might seem harmless, it can have a significant effect on one’s perception of the world, and the relative importance of the different place in it.

In speech, we often refer to places being “above” or “below” others. Think of how you would say you’re about to travel to the state or country to your north or south (to go “down” to Kentucky from Indiana, or “up” to Canada from the US). Without even mentioning geography, ask any grade school student whether Mexico is “above” or “below” the United States. We’re all familiar with the “land down under”. As we often correlate importance to relative height (think how a citizens of a country will fly their flag higher than all other flags), the north-up convention reinforces the idea that northern bodies are more important than their southern neighbors. Suddenly, traveling “down” to the South might have an inference much deeper than geographic location.

After looking at the map more closely, you may realize that the South-Up orientation may change your perception of the relative status of different places. For example, South America suddenly looks to have more prominence, and Africa and the Middle East completely dwarf Europe. Likewise, tucking Northern Europe, Canada, and Russia away at the bottom of the map, subconsciously takes away their status.

To summarize, unconditionally accepting the north-up map convention without at least appreciating the effect stands at odds with viewing all people and places within the world equally. x x

Tech advocate Tatiana King discusses her Love At 1st Byte brand,...

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:57:00 -0400

Tech advocate Tatiana King discusses her Love At 1st Byte brand, 3D printing, the growing popularity of geek culture and more with Anjuan Simmons