PeaceLove sez, "Cory's recent post mentioning the 'books as objects' phenomenon compels me to mention the extremely delectable new Taschen book, Magic, 1400s-1950s. It's gargantuan, classy, profusely illustrated and expensive but if you are a magician or magic fan, you've just found the perfect holiday gift (hint, hint). Authors Mike Caveney and Jim Steinmeyer, along with contributor Ricky Jay, are all professional magicians, scholars and historians of the first rank. This is a serious work, as well as a gigantic love letter to the 500+ 'golden years' of magic. It's available on deep discount right now at Amazon."

Magic 1400s-1950s (Amazon)

Magic, 1400s-1950s (Taschen, lots of interior images) (Thanks, PeaceLove!)

Black Sabbath, 1970. Inspired by a fleeting tweet from Raymond Leon Roker. May or may not be a "response video" of sorts to the news of the evening.

(photo by Jason Weisberger)

Recent research suggests that spending time in nature actually makes people "more caring." The studies, by University of Rochester psychologists Netta Weinstein, Andrew Przybylski, and Richard Ryan, showed that people exposed to nature (well, mostly slideshows of nature) put a higher value on intrinsic aspirations, such as doing good in the world or having meaningful relationships, and lower value on extrinsic aspirations, like making a lot of cash or admired by many people. Now as I mentioned, the participants didn't actually live outdoors for a while or anything as part of the study. Rather, in three of the studies, they looked at images of either the built environment or landscapes and such. And in the fourth, some participants were assigned to work in a laboratory either with or without plants around them. Then they answered a series of questions or were given tests of generosity. "The result? People who were in contact with nature were more willing to open their wallets and share. As with aspirations, the higher the immersion in nature, the more likely subjects were to be generous with their winnings."

More info and a video interview with one of the researchers after the jump.

Saul Griffith is an inventor and entrepreneur. He did his PhD at MIT in programmable matter, exploring the relationship between bits and atoms, or information and materials. Since leaving MIT, he has co-founded a number of technology companies including Optiopia, Squid Labs, Instructables, Potenco, and Makani Power.

On the day before Thanksgiving, while everyone was distracted buying (or pardoning) turkeys, the Obama team announced that the president will go to Copenhagen and promise to try to commit to a carbon reduction schedule for the United States.

(More links if you want to see the news repeat it over and over again: 1, 2, 3)

On one hand, I want to be excited about this because unless the US makes a commitment to CO2 reductions, it's exceedingly unlikely that the rest of the world will bother. On the other hand, no one should be jumping in the aisles till we look at the numbers more carefully.

It's probably useful to first update yourself on the climate science. Here's a well-written, critical, and objective summary of recent scientific results released a few months ago. It was prepared as an update between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of 2007, and IPCC AR5, which will not to be completed until 2013. The PDF of the full report is well worth reading.

Hemant Mehta does a fascinating interview with Ray Comfort, not about Creationism, but about Comfort's personal philosophy and the way he has gone about promoting Creationism and Christianity in general. Comfort, you'll recall, is the guy who tried to prove the existence of a benevolent interventionist God by appealing to the human-convenient shape of a banana--a plant that's been heavily modified by humans through controlled selection in agriculture. Kudos to Mehta for giving us a glimpse inside this particular head.

Hemant: The banana. Do you stand by the argument in your video? Do you regret saying what you did? Do you like when people associate that video with you? Was it a joke? Are you aware that the banana in your video is genetically modified while a "natural" banana would be virtually unrecognizable? (There are several other questions regarding the Banana, but these are the overall themes).

Ray: I deeply regret doing the banana routine on television without a live audience. I have been doing it for live audiences for more than 20 years, and it's never failed to get a lot of laughs. Regarding genetic modification. There isn't any evidence that the banana has changed its shape in the last 2,000 years. The anonymous creator of the well-publicized YouTube clip used a picture of a modern banana that was shaped like a potato, to make me look like a fool (and he did a pretty good job). To see evidence that the banana hasn't changed shape, go to the bottom of http://www.livingwaters.com/origin/presskit and click on the PDF of "The Banana Controversy." Humbling though it has been, the subject has worked in my favor. Being "The Banana Man" has left me with a very low bar to reach. People are quite amazed when I'm able to string a complete sentence together.

It's worth noting that, given Mehta's audience, this is pretty atheist-centric. However, I'm well aware that belief in the Christian God/Jesus (or any other deity) doesn't preclude acceptance of evolution and doesn't equate with scientific illiteracy. Mehta seems to be aware of that as well. Comfort, on the other hand, appears to be a little confused on the subject.

The Friendly Atheist: Interview With Ray Comfort

Image courtesy Flickr user ian_ransley, via CC

Above is the mindbending work of camouflage artist Liu Bolin. More images over at Hi-Fructose!

A Coast to Coast listener named Alan sent them this amazing photo of a creepy giant spectral eye staring down at them in their bedroom. Alan says the eye turned out to be "a bedside light reflecting off a stack of CDs." Too bad. "Creepy eye on ceiling"

Tonight, the National Geographic Channel visits a rural Brazilian town where "the 80 households in a one-square-mile area have reportedly some 38 pairs of twins. Blond, blue-eyed twins." Nat Geo then attempts to trace rumors connecting that creepy phenomenon to Nazi medical monster Joseph Mengele, who was on the lam in Brazil in the 1950s. I'm not sure I've seen a Nat Geo special that inspired this strong of a, "No, really, you're making this up, right?" response. I'm curious whether they turn up anything definitive, or whether this just ends up being a lot of speculation. Sadly, I don't have cable, so I probably won't find out. If anybody watches it, let me know what you think.

National Geographic Channel: Nazi Mystery: Twins From Brazil

Bloomberg columnist Alice Schroeder reports that Goldman Sachs vampires are loading up on handguns to defend themselves against popular uprising:

"I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit," said a friend, who told me of swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker who applied to the local police for a permit to buy a pistol. The banker had told this friend of mine that senior Goldman people have loaded up on firearms and are now equipped to defend themselves if there is a populist uprising against the bank.

I called Goldman Sachs spokesman Lucas van Praag to ask whether it's true that Goldman partners feel they need handguns to protect themselves from the angry proletariat. He didn't call me back...

Plenty of Wall Streeters worry about the big discrepancies in wealth, and think the rise of a financial industry-led plutocracy is unjust. That doesn't mean any of them plan to move into a double-wide mobile home as a show of solidarity with the little people, though.

No, talk of Goldman and guns plays right into the way Wall- Streeters like to think of themselves. Even those who were bailed out believe they are tough, macho Clint Eastwoods of the financial frontier, protecting the fistful of dollars in one hand with the Glock in the other. The last thing they want is to be so reasonably paid that the peasants have no interest in lynching them.

Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public: Alice Schroeder (via Making Light)

(Image: Eat the bankers, a Creative Commons Attribution photo from Iain Winfield's photostream)

Wooster Collective ("a celebration of street art") has an article about "The Pink Lady of Malibu," which appeared over a tunnel in Malibu Canyon Road in 1966.

One Saturday morning, on October 29, 1966, a massive 60-foot-tall painting of a nude pink lady holding flowers suddenly appeared as you headed into the tunnel on Malibu Canyon Road.

As word of the massive pink lady spread, and the traffic on the highway grew to a halt, city officials decided "The Pink Lady" had to be removed. Firefighters were called to hosing her off the rocks. It didn't work. Buckets of paint thinner were thrown on the rocks. It only made her pink skin pinker.

As county officials worked on figuring out a way to remove The Pink Lady, a 31-year-old paralegal from Northridge, a woman named Lynne Seemayer, suddenly showed up on the road and admitted that she was the artist who did the piece.

Seemayer said that she was annoyed by the graffiti that was all over the canyon wall ("Valley Go Home" was a memorable slogan) and so, over a 10 month period, she started to secretly climb up under the moonlight and suspended herself by ropes to remove the graffiti.

At 8 P. M. on October 28 Seemayer painted the Pink Lady using ordinary house paint. By dawn it was done.

Snopes has more about the story.

The Story Of "The Pink Lady of Malibu" (Via Little Hokum Rag)

Rachel sez, "I just made these rings today, and think you might like them! They are handmade from sterling silver with black onyx "food points." As the saying goes, 'om nom nom!'

Yes, Rachel, I do like 'em! I like 'em a lot!

Pacman Ring Series- Sterling Silver and Black Onyx (Thanks, Rachel!)

The design blog Core77 has some great ideas in their 2009 holiday gift guide.

Solvate Customer Service Haggling, $25/hour

Consider the gift of time, in $25 increments, from Solvate Customer Service Haggling. This startup VC-backed company takes on numerous phone-related haggling challenges, with impressive case study results. 90 minutes saved in planning a last minute business trip. 30 minutes reducing DMV headaches. 45 minutes haggling down a four-figure iPhone abroad data charge. This holiday season, give the gift of delegation.

Core77's holiday gift guide

Tim Biskup designed a wallet made by Poketo, which will be offered at his upcoming show, "Art-Snob Eat Shit" at All Tomorrow's Parties' "Nightmare Before Christmas," December 4-6, 2009 at Butlin's Holiday Centre, Minehead, UK.

Tim Biskup not only designed the poster, tee shirts and other graphics for the upcoming My Bloody Valentine-curated "Nightmare Before Christmas" event for All Tomorrow's Parties, but will also be showing an exhibition of his own work at the on-site gallery, "Art-Snob Eat Shit". To add icing to the cake, Tim Biskup will be releasing an exclusive Poketo wallet, only available at the show, in addition to two new Poketo wallets available at Poketo.com.

Curated by My Bloody Valentine, "Nightmare Before Christmas" takes place during All Tomorrows Parties in the UK. The festival showcases world-renowned artists, and musicians ranging in style from post-rock, avant-garde, and underground hip-hop, with a more intimate feel than a mainstream music festival.  More information available at www.atpfestival.com.

Nightmare Before Christmas curated by My Bloody Valentine

2010 will mark the 40th anniversary of one of the Internet's oldest memes: That Video Where They Blow Up a Beached Whale. To mark this momentous occasion, Asylum recently interviewed Paul Linnman, the TV reporter who recorded the footage that went on to become the the fifth-most-viewed viral video of all time.

"We're hearing this noise around us and we realize it is pieces of whale blubber hitting the ground around us (from) 1,000 yards away. A piece of blubber the size of a fingernail could kill you if it hit you in the right part of the head, so we ran away from the blast scene, down the dune and toward the parking lot. Then we heard a second explosion ahead of us, and we just kept going until we saw what it was: A car had been hit by this coffee-table-size piece of blubber and had its windows flattened all the way down to the seats."

The footage and Linnman's report made the evening news and eventually found its way into the national media, something that only earned him $90 extra bucks and $110 for Brazil "because he had a better union than I did apparently."

Asylum.com: Exploding Whale Video Reporter Looks Back Four Decades Later

A new study conducted in Florida has given scientists reason to believe that hammerhead sharks may have vision comparable to that of humans. The researchers measured electrical activity in the eyes of half a dozen sharks from three different hammerhead species. They then put electrodes under the sharks' corneas and recorded electrical activity while shining lights in horizontal and vertical arcs around each eye. Compared to normal-headed sharks, the hammerheads had three times the visual overlap — that's what creates stereo vision and depth perception in animals with eyes that face forward. This, of course, helps them be faster and more efficient at hunting prey. But there's a catch: because their eyes are so far apart, hammerheads have these giant blind spots right in the middle of their head. As study leader Michelle McComb put it in an interview with National Geographic:

There's actually been anecdotal claims by divers that they see little fish schooling right in front of the hammerheads' heads. It's like the fish are swimming by and saying, Ha, ha, ha, you can't see me!

Hammerhead sharks have "human" vision [National Geographic]

Image via Eric Charlton's Flickr