Pique Intellect 1: Free Audiobooks

So, based on an excellent discussion I had with someone recently, I've decided to put together a series of bulletins detailing certain methods I've come across that keep you learning, and hopefully can introduce you to new hobbies or interests.

I don't do this out of arrogance, assuming I'm the authority on building intelligence (though not denying it), but simply as a way to share some things I think are useful. Just ignore the totally pretentious title.

First off are free, online Audiobooks. Or if you want to be extra douchy, "Podiobooks".

Simply MP3 recordings of people reading books, this is a great way to catch up on important classics when you're driving, sleeping, at work or having sex.

Why are they free? Well they're all pretty old pieces of work, so they're in the public domain (meaning the copyrights have expired). You can find almost anything here...

The best place to find them? First and foremost is definitely Librivox.org. There are over 1000 books available here; and if you're feeling generous you can contribute your own time, reading ability and silky smooth voice.

And here is a good directory of various sources I got from oculture.com

Audiobooks with Annie iTunes Feed Web Site

Audio Literature Odyssey iTunes Feed Web Site
A collection of classics. Henry James, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, etc.

BMW Audio Books Web Site
Here you'll find four short stories issued by BMW and Random House:
Don Winslow's Beautiful Ride,
James Flint's Master Of The Storm,
Simon Kernick's The Debt, and
Karin Slaughter's Cold Cold Heart.

Classic Poetry Aloud iTunes Feed Web Site
These poetry podcasts provide readings of the great poems of the past.

Classic Tales Podcast iTunes Feed Web Site
The whole point is to make unabridged classics not only available, but approachable.

Drake's Door iTunes Web Site
Alan Drake has an extensive collection of audio recordings of classic poetry and literature. To see his full collection, go straight to his web site. It is more complete than what you'll find on iTunes.

Escapepod iTunes Feed Web Site
Collections of well-reviewed audio short stories.

FreeAudio.org Web Site
Audio versions of key texts from American history.

Great Books - A Chapter a Day iTunes Feed Web Site

Great Speeches in History iTunes Feed Web Site

Kara's Free AudioBooks iTunes Feed Web Site

Learn OutLoud.com

Founding Documents of America iTunes Feed Web Site

Great Speeches in History iTunes Feed Web Site

Philosophy Readings iTunes Feed Web Site

Haverford College - Classic/Ancient Text Read Aloud iTunes Web Site (see site for feeds)

Miette's Bedtime Stories iTunes Feed Web Site

The Penguin Podcast
Excerpts read from books newly published by Penguin UK.

Podiobooks
Provides podcasts of largely sci-fi books that we've never heard of before. But, you never know.

Pseudopod (iTunes Feed Web Site),
The world's first audio horror magazine

Radioboeken iTunes Feed Web Site
"Radiobooks" are just like books, but they will never be printed. They are created by important Dutch and Flemish writers, and will be available in French, English and Spanish versions in 2007.

Stories to Go iTunes Feed Web Site

Stranger Things iTunes Feed Web Site
This high-quality video podcast features stories of ordinary people stumbling into strange worlds (a la The Twilight Zone).

The Classic Tales Podcast iTunes Feed Web Site
The Classic Tales Podcast makes unabridged classics not only available, but approachable. Includes professional performances.

The Public Domain Podcast iTunes Feed Web Site

The Spoken Alexandria Project iTunes Feed Web Site

The Time Traveler iTunes Feed Web Site
Explores vintage American fiction. Orson Welles, Philip K. Dick, etc.

Utopod iTunes - Feed - Web Site
A free French-language podcast, created by Lucas Moreno and and Marc Tiefenauer, that offers readings of fantasy and sci fi stories written by noted authors across the Francophone world.

Vox Pop Radio Feed Web Site
A series of classic short stories from the public domain.

Well Told Tales iTunes Feed Web Site
Pulf fiction audio tales.

A Sign of Insanity

New day, new meme. This has me particularly interested though.

It starts with this:


(Click it for a larger version. The discontinuity in the middle is only a scanning defect.)

This painting, of a lovely looking winter day, was posted in a Russian blog with a cryptic sort of explaination. According to the poster, the person who painted this had a rare and severe mental disorder; constantly seeing his own fantasies manifest around him. He also suffered from a phobia. The exact phobia was not shared.

The poster first saw this painting in a lecture given by his Psychiatry professor, who told the class that there was one tell-tale sign in the painting that showed the artist's insanity. The professor left discovery up to the students, keeping the answer to himself, but sharing some clues. Clues that internet geeks have been sucking dry for the last couple of days now. I'll detail them later. Digg, Slashdot, Fark and SomethingAwful users have been guessing their pseudo-psychiatrist hearts out.

The professor said that during the 15 years of his teaching, only one student had figured it out.

Before the clues, let's start with this:



Apparently, our crazy friend copied this image. It was painted by a Soviet artist named Antonov in the 1970s, and appeared on postcards. Use this to compare to his as a way of determining what's insanity, and what he was copying. He does a remarkable job with some details, but misses others. That may have nothing to do with it at all though. Another interesting point is that the professor was unaware of this painting. Still haven't heard if that means the "insanity" existed originally in this one, and was simply copied/falsly diagnosed.

-The Clues-

• Don’t look for small details, look at the whole
• If you figure out what the phobia was, you’ve got the answer
• Ask yourself what could have preceded this scene
• Think of what the place would look like with all the objects removed
• What would you hear if you were inside the painting
• The keywords are water and air

• One more clue. Someone made this guess. The painting depicts the Maslenitsa (Shrovetide, the feast on the last day before the Lent — the Brazilian carnival is the same holiday). It’s one of the holidays with pagan roots, and the celebration involves burning a strawman — symbolising, if I remember correctly, the ending winter. Now, could it be that you’re the burning strawman?

  To which the professor allegedly replied, “not a strawman — but close”.

-Other Stuff-

• Digger Ansomatica photoshopped some images based on the "all objects removed" clue.
  
  
  
  
  

• Digger jtrost's Russian friend re-translated the original posting, which offers a bit more information:

  The poster is a student in a university. Their professor taught them Freud and showed a bunch of paintings. Then he showed them this one. It was painted by a person who did not see anything around him. All he saw were his fantasies and wishes. One detail in that picture shows that he has a severe mental illness. He also says that if you try to imagine yourself in the picture, you would never feel at ease because the depicted world is a manifestation of a sick person's fantasy.

• The original painting was based on the Maslenitsa
• And, as I'm looking for more information, I've found someone else has also made a blog to collect information, and he's done a damn fine job: http://akuplin.blogspot.com/

-The Answer-

...will hopefully come before this simple image renders us all insane. If all the latest information is to be believed, the professor himself has caught wind of the huge amount of interest generated on the net. He's even made his own livejournal http://larimurmbi.livejournal.com/ where he will announce the answer -- but he wants to read all of the comments first. Hopefully he just means on the original Russian blog.

-Links-

Let me make it clear that all of the information on this page is from other sources, both blogs and readers. I made this entry out of my own personal intrigue, as a way to share it with friends, and a place to collect information. Also, this could all be a hoax, or a really lame over-hyped answer, so there. Right now though, not only is the idea very interesting, but also the insane amount of attention it's gotten in only a few days. A whole lot of people are going to be blown away with it's profounditude, or incredibly disappointed.

Here are links to various sites covering this, and there's a wealth of query in their comments:

The one that started it (for the english speaking, at least): http://www.veryrussian.net/category/russian-blogs-and-web-culture/the-painting/

Digg:
http://digg.com/health/What_is_the_insane_secret_of_this_painting

Metafilter:
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/56678

If you know of more with a ton of comments, let me know.

A HISTORY OF STRANGE PLAYSTATION ADS

With the PlayStation 3 nearing launch, and the first US commercials showing up on TV (and the net), there has been a lot of talk about the first two spots. One starring a giggly baby with retractable tears and light-up eyes, and the other starring a Rubik's cube that explodes when you solve it.

The general consensus calls these ads extremely mysterious. Good or bad? Some critics say they do nothing to explain why Joe Americana would want one of these levitating devices. Others appreciate their artsy vagueness. What's certain? The PlayStation brand is no stranger to... stranger advertising.

Let's start with the perpetually strange David Lynch. For the PlayStation 2 launch, Sony called on him to introduce their new product to Europe. The campaign was called The Third Place. If I remember correctly, the idea came from Earth being the first place, Space being the second, and the third being somewhere beyond that, another dimension, or even dreams. This coincides with the PS2 design itself; the Earth being the blue PS2 text in the middle and Space being the black body.

Here are five of the ads from the campaign, but I'm saving the best (weirdest) for the end of the post:

Probably my favorite of the bunch. Beautifully animated and great narration. Plus it's pretty damn crazy. MY ROCKET IS MADE FROM PURE CARBON AND SMASHES THROUGH PLANETS!



Guess I've been playing PlayStation's for about 12 years now, but obviously not like this guy. Diggin' the blue trunks though.


Meet Jimmy Dynamite. This fool is set in his ways, and doesn't budge for even the nicest pleading british accent. This is probably the ad that most represents Sony today.


Now this one's pretty nice. You know, in a poetical sort of fashion. It also makes me want to finish that Dali puzzle.


Here's Bambi, a motor vehicle in transit, the connection of the two and the unexpected result.

Next will be Chris Cunningham's disturbing entry. If you don't know, Chris Cunningham has directed videos for Autechre, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Portishead and Bjork, among others. Definitely worth a browse if you like the next video. Also, I inexplicably switch to YouTube for videos at this point. Though, I guess it's not really a switch anymore... Am I rambling?

This is called "Mental Wealth" and it's starring Fi-Fi; a creepy alien-type chick. I mean she seems nice, and looks to be a decent conversationalist... just not my creepy cup of tea.

The two following videos have no special director as far as I know, just ads. And the next one's really fun.


The PlayStation 9. The only unrealistic thing about this ad is that it's projected for release in 2078, which will be well after the Singularity.

This one's pretty cool. Made for New Zealand I guess. The Shirley Temple soundtrack ROCKS and I really think it puts all the Xbox 360 "Jump In" ads to shame.

And per my own outstanding personality trait, I've saved the best for last. Back with David Lynch here, and one of the strangest commercials I've ever seen.

How 'bout some Aflac for the dude in the body cast?

The Third Place used to have a website with a bunch of fun, artsy flash installments, but it's gone now. Shame.

But there you have it, a bunch of weird PlayStation ads. I personally would like to see a throwback to the PS1 days with a slightly modified version of a campaign most of us remember. What do you guys think?

URNOT3