Last year more than 81,000 people were adopted in Japan, one of the highest rates in the world. But, amazingly, over 90% of those adopted were adults. The practice of adopting men in their 20s and 30s is used to rescue biologically ill-fated families and ensure a business heir, says Vikas Mehrotra, of the University of Alberta, the paper’s lead author. “We haven’t come across this custom in any other part of the world.”
(via brooklynmutt)
May 10, 2013Bradley Campbell used some napkins to diagram the narrative structures of radio shows.
(via ilovecharts)
Mar 27, 2013digg:
Another throwback: The internet in 1995
NYT journalist John Markoff shows how he uses “electronic mail” and opens up an email from Steve Jobs.
Oh you know, just this dude Steve who won’t stop emailing me.
Also, why does this video seem more like it was taped in 1985? Time really is compressing.
What a trip.
(Source: mentalfloss.com)
Mar 27, 2013
Samsung’s 8-inch PHONE
Samsung is in an arms race with itself to build a phone with the largest display. We need detente before someone gets hurt. Seriously, an 8-inch phone is a weapon.
(Source: Gizmodo)
Feb 25, 2013Roman Opałka was a French-born Polish painter who painted numbers. In 1965 he began painting a process of counting – from one to infinity. Starting in the top left-hand corner of the canvas and finishing in the bottom right-hand corner, the tiny numbers were painted in horizontal rows. As of July 2004, he had reached 5.5 million.
On August 6th 2011, Roman Opalka completed his work: “the finite defined by the nonfinite”
I think we may have to redefine “insanity”.
(Source: victimize)
Feb 23, 2013
It was a big bet. Netflix spent $100 million on House of Cards, but it’s already paying off.
About 86% of subscribers say that political drama House Of Cards starring Kevin Spacey makes them less likely to cancel, according to a survey last week conducted by investment firm Cowen and Co.
Only 346 of the 1,229 U.S. consumers surveyed on February 12-13 are Netflix customers, although another 223 are classified as non-subscribers who have access to a Netflix subscription. About 10% of subscribers and those with access to Netflix viewed at least one episode of House Of Cards in the first 12 days after it became available. The average person who tuned in watched six episodes over that period, but 19.4% watched all 13. Viewers were impressed: 36% called the series “exceptional” while 43% deemed it “good.”
Up until this point, it looked as if Netflix would be forced to acquire content and higher and higher prices. Last year, Netflix spent $1.8 billion on content acquisition costs. As content owners continue to realize the value of digital rights, costs for that content have risen.
Now that Netflix has its’ own content with proven value, it might no longer be forced to serve content masters.
I wonder how much current Netflix subscribers would pay per month to just watch House of Cards?
Even if its $2 (I suspect it’s higher), that’s 25% of the base-level subscription plan.
Feb 22, 2013
Feb 22, 2013Learn, you must: When looking to broaden to broaden their horizons, some take up painting, others taking dancing classes - and others take up waving around a big glowing sword.
The class is the brainchild of Alain Bloch, a 32-year-old software engineer with a lifelong love of George Lucas’ epic space opera.
Roughly 25 people meet every Sunday in San Francisco for Bloch’s lightsaber classes, which cost $10 per lesson, and don’t require a trip to Dagobah.
Read more over at Hero Complex.
Photos: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press
