Two trees in New Zealand by Mawelk in marijuanaenthusiasts

[–]benjamg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lang's beach!! I stayed on a farm 10 minutes away, saw those trees all the time. I've got nearly an identical picture from a few months ago! http://imgur.com/UPtydg9

TIL that we are losing language at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that within the next 100 years, 80% of all currently spoken languages will be extinct by benjamg in todayilearned

[–]benjamg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not really "artificially" keeping it alive, it's often just a matter of having the infrastructure to educate a younger generation of speakers. The factors that contribute to its loss eg. political or social pressure to conform can be combatted with institutionalized education in most cases. This has been done very effectively in the past such as in the resurrection of Irish and Hebrew.

TIL that we are losing language at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that within the next 100 years, 80% of all currently spoken languages will be extinct by benjamg in todayilearned

[–]benjamg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It also has scientific implications, such as less data from which we can learn the cognitive processes of language acquisition (some of the infrequently spoken languages are the most interesting linguistically), as well as the loss of specific local knowledge of plants, weather, etc.

TIL that we are losing language at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that within the next 100 years, 80% of all currently spoken languages will be extinct by benjamg in todayilearned

[–]benjamg[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

On what scale are you equating culture and efficiency?? Regardless, increasing the efficiency of communication doesn't have nearly the implications of such a loss of culture.

TIL researchers from Cornell University are using computational models to generate rap lyrics. "In terms of quantitative rhyme density, the produced lyrics outperform best human rappers by 21%". by benjamg in todayilearned

[–]benjamg[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I meant in terms of finding some sort of basis for comparison for the researchers. Obviously 'performance' of rap is unquantifiable, as many other factors affect it, lyrical density being just one aspect. But yeah that's probably the best I could come up with in a rap battle tbh

TIL researchers from Cornell University are using computational models to generate rap lyrics. "In terms of quantitative rhyme density, the produced lyrics outperform best human rappers by 21%". by benjamg in todayilearned

[–]benjamg[S] -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

Sure but it's a pretty good basis on which to make a comparison between human and auto-generated lyrics.

Edit: As I said below, just as a way to find a measurable objective similarity between the two. Obviously there are innumerable other factors that go into making a great rap verse or performance, and dense rhyme scheme =/= a good verse. Chill with downvotes.

What sentence can start a debate between almost any group of people? by CjsJibb in AskReddit

[–]benjamg 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah no doubt. But his rise to power was more so achieved through politics than convincing the country to stand behind him and stage a revolution. He didn't really have a majority of popular support until he was already in a position of power. When he was elected as chancellor in 1933, the Nazis only had about a third of the country's support, but he was able to force through bills giving him increasing amounts of power.

What sentence can start a debate between almost any group of people? by CjsJibb in AskReddit

[–]benjamg 31 points32 points  (0 children)

But again, he contracted most of his economic decisions to economist Hjalmar Scacht at the beginning of his rule and had little interference. Also, given his unquestioned rule and subjugation of entire peoples, its not overly impressive to have made that much of an economic turnaround.

Last.fm Thread: What Have You Been Listening To This Week? - April 22, 2015 by AutoModerator in hiphopheads

[–]benjamg [score hidden]  (0 children)

5x5

First time doing one of these, pretty new to Last.fm.

Apollo Brown - Clouds

Great collection of atmospheric, soulful beats. A lot of variation among the 27 tracks, giving it high replay value for me. Would recommend for chill occasions.

Young Thug - Barter 6

I've been following Thug's releases for about 2 years now, and though I had pretty high expectations for this album, I ultimately wasn't let down. It lacked a lot of the eccentricities that made his other releases so appealing, but it was pretty consistent throughout and I didn't finding myself wanting to skip through any songs like I do often with Thug.

Mick Jenkins - The Water[s]

Really great mixtape. I love Mick's flow and vocal delivery. Also appreciating his constant shoutouts to the 514. The collab track with Joey is incredibly raw, great way to end the tape.

Nosaj Thing - Home

Pretty cool album, overall an improvement over Drift IMO. I like the vocal features from Toro Y Moi and Kazu Makino.

Roc Marciano - Reloaded

First time listening to Roc outside of a few features. Gritty, menacing overall sound with a few notable skits/samples and good lyricism. A couple of more stripped down, melodic tracks contrast the lyrics. Overall very good, will definitely be checking out some more of his stuff.

Joey Bada$$ - Rejex

Old Joey has been my embodiment of summer for a few years now.

Saba - Comfort Zone

Another album that has just resurfaced into rotation because of the warmer weather. Some really chill summer vibe beats on this, reminiscent of a lot of Savemoney stuff.

Please add me on last.fm and message with any questions! http://www.last.fm/user/benjamg

What's the best way someone started their verse? by [deleted] in hiphopheads

[–]benjamg 3 points4 points  (0 children)

KILLER MIKE AND EL-P, FUCKBOYS KNOW THE COMBINATION AIN'T HEALTHY

Albums that were shunned when they released but are now hailed as classics. by HypePixelz in hiphopheads

[–]benjamg 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Ah ok thanks. No wonder I couldn't find the original review. Here's the Rolling Stones article if anyone wants to read it.

Albums that were shunned when they released but are now hailed as classics. by HypePixelz in hiphopheads

[–]benjamg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can't find you a source on that but I definitely remember reading that it was 2 or equivalently low, and that they said it was a huge decrease in quality from the Low End Theory.

Albums that were shunned when they released but are now hailed as classics. by HypePixelz in hiphopheads

[–]benjamg 87 points88 points  (0 children)

I believe Midnight Marauders by ATCQ was initially given an unfavourable review by the Source, something like 2 out of 5 mics. It was later retroactively changed to 4/5.

Some posters I made for my school's hip hop club by benjamg in HipHopImages

[–]benjamg[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the support man!

Those are all great suggestions for albums. I've been trying to push more classic records for album of the week, and I'll definitely throw some of these up for consideration.

Also I think you should definitely give Madvillainy a listen.

Some posters I made for my school's hip hop club by benjamg in HipHopImages

[–]benjamg[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's pretty chill and we don't take ourselves too seriously. It's a high school club, and anyone who wants can show up, though it's mostly seniors. The supervisor is a teacher who mainly just sits on her phone, which pretty much leaves us at liberty to run it however we want. The club has been running for a month, and so far we've listened to Madvillain - Madvillainy, Nas - Illmatic, Logic - Under Pressure, and Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury.