Were you one of a handful of geeky teens watching BBC2 at 9.35pm on Saturday January 16th 1982? Or perhaps you were one of the sports fans who tuned in by accident when the football was cancelled. If so, you caught the first and last British television screening of a surreal, pitch black time travel farce from the pen of Czech sci fi maestro Josef Nesvabda, and you have probably never forgotten it. Now thanks to the Internet, you can watch Zítra vstanu a oparím se cajem, or Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself With Tea again at last, after more than thirty years.
posted to MetaFilter by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 7:59 AM on September 1, 2013 (16 comments)

Many monsters in fiction are scary in large part because of their inherent, biological abilities: acid blood, teeth, claws, wings, etc. Inspired by this tumblr thread (via this Omni article), I'm looking for stories in any genre that avoid or (preferably) subvert this trope, making humans out to be inherently frightening, gross or dangerous.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Skorgu at 8:09 AM on August 23, 2013 (38 comments)

Released today on Steam, Gone Home has garnered praise for its deeply affecting narrative, stripped-down design and a unique aesthetic steeped in 90's nostalgia and riot grrl culture. "When I played Gone Home I had the stunning realization that there could be a game for me. Someone can make a game for me." -Leigh Alexander. "It’s touching, unsettling, deeply honest, and enormously compassionate. -Rock, Paper, Shotgun. "Gone Home is an epic story, but its definition of epic is far removed from how we usually talk about scope and drama in games. It’s epic, personal and revelatory to the people involved, and that’s why it’s so special." -Giant Bomb. Polygon's 10/10 review. How Gone Home's design constraints lead to a powerful story. The Fullbright Company's Journey Home.
posted to MetaFilter by naju at 3:21 PM on August 15, 2013 (195 comments)

The concept of 'Sad Rap' has recently been explored by two rappers: Little Pain (Soundcloud, YouTube video for "High Cry") in the United States, and Yung Lean (Soundcloud, personal site, and video of "Hurt" (the video is... amazing?)) of Sweden. Pain and Lean have been compared to Lil B for their similar outsider art perspective on the genre, with the distinction that sad rap tends to focus singularly on the emotion of depression. For further reading, Vice's Noisey music blog has been chronicling both Pain and Lean in these articles: Meet Little Pain..., Meet Yung Lean Doer.... The Strangest New Thing in Music or a Logical Next Step for Hip-Hop from Pigeons and Planes. Hip-hop blog Refined Hype has a reaction piece which questions the very concept of 'Sad Rap' as a genre: Stopping Little Pain & Sad Rap Before It Starts. Producer Suicideyear provides the low key, somber beats for both artists.
posted to MetaFilter by codacorolla at 11:42 AM on July 22, 2013 (40 comments)

Download The Stories: Five Years of Original Fiction on Tor.com Nearly 4000 pages of some of your favorite authors for free. [Past offers not valid in all countries. Sorry if yours is one of these.]
posted to MetaFilter by cjorgensen at 12:44 PM on July 18, 2013 (29 comments)

The regular polygons have been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude/tte to construct the regular polygons with nothing but a virtual compass and straightedge?
posted to MetaFilter by Iridic at 9:04 AM on July 3, 2013 (66 comments)

Today marks the beginning of the 2013 Iron Butt Rally, a long distance motorcycle rally in which participants ride 11,000 miles in 11 days. It rained on today's start in Pennsylvania, but the challenges are only beginning for these riders.
posted to MetaFilter by workerant at 10:49 AM on July 2, 2013 (13 comments)

[NSFW, TW] Sex House is an Onion webseries about six sexy Americans locked in a house for a reality show about getting nasty, but by the end of the first night things start to get terrible. Think No Exit meets Black Mirror (previously), it's a scathing satire of American sexual attitudes that's also amazingly suspenseful.
posted to MetaFilter by The Devil Tesla at 8:48 PM on August 9, 2012 (93 comments)

A few weeks ago, tensions were rising high in a trans*-related FPP over the tendency of threads on said topic to turn into trans 101 rather than focusing on issues highlighted, especially given how it could be perceived as threatening and exhausting. Juliet Banana was apparently listening to the debate and made a special note to include links to some FAQs in today's post on the topic. I just wanted to extend my kudos and bring attention to this excellent resolution to the debate, and suggest that this should be a standard for trans* posts in the future.
posted to MetaTalk by Conspire at 4:00 PM on June 10, 2013 (44 comments)

Will The Real Mr Sellers Please Stand Up - a rare ~50min film narrated by Spike Milligan and made during the filming of 'The Magic Christian'*via Cinephilia and Beyond. [NSFW - some nudity]
posted to MetaFilter by peacay at 12:33 AM on June 11, 2013 (12 comments)

1990s Rap Music Question: Lately I've been thinking about "Without a Doubt" by Black Sheep and "Big Poppa" by Notorious B.I.G... They both use Isley Brothers samples that feature that same "whining" instrument that gives them a sort of nostalgic, laid-back, almost melancholy feel. And they're both about chilling and being happy instead of thugging out or getting violent. What other songs have that same non-gangsta, nostalgic vibe? I'm thinking there must have been more in the 90s that I haven't heard. Seems like the West Coast had a similar "whine" in their sound but it always sounded different than the examples I mentioned, and they were repping thug life more out west? I admit, I honestly don't know...take me to school, brothers and sisters. Thanks in advance.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ktoad at 10:06 PM on February 17, 2013 (25 comments)

Minister Faust explains the meaning of George Clinton's Mothership
posted to MetaFilter by Artw at 8:51 PM on May 2, 2013 (33 comments)

COMMERCE, MY FACELESS INTERNET FRIENDS, IS BEAUTIFUL. CVS Bangers is a parody mixtape from Hennessy Youngman.
posted to MetaFilter by mkb at 10:54 AM on April 25, 2013 (44 comments)

Goodbye, Thursday productivity. Hello, 10 wonderful short films based on famous short stories.
posted to MetaFilter by jbickers at 6:34 AM on June 14, 2012 (7 comments)

Higgs Boson explained - via animation or, by click by click comic version. A brief talk about the mysterious Higgs Boson and the LHC search for it, given by particle physicist Daniel Whiteson
posted to MetaFilter by edgeways at 9:03 PM on April 26, 2012 (11 comments)

Building a Computer 1: Numerals - recently my kids have been asking me about how computers work. I like to give in-depth answers to such questions, so we set out on a quest to understand how they work... Follow-up parts 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15.
posted to MetaFilter by Wolfdog at 11:49 AM on October 20, 2011 (17 comments)

The Star Pit, a radio play by Samuel R. Delany, based on his short story. Notes on the production.
posted to MetaFilter by Artw at 12:44 AM on January 10, 2012 (8 comments)

Marc-André Hamelin composed Circus Galop for the player piano. Performing it is impossible for a mere pair of human hands, but two people have tried to fake it until they make it. Another has transcribed it (or half of it, perhaps) for one player. Often, people will run it through a MIDI sequencer of their choice, to make a lively animation. Some have built Arduino robots that perform it. But, in the end, the best medium for a work this insane is the humble, yet manic player piano (less manic, but clearer-sounding performance here). Hamelin himself has run his composition through one, managing to get his television host to start dancing as the closing credits fade out...
posted to MetaFilter by Blazecock Pileon at 5:12 PM on January 3, 2012 (33 comments)

Intrigued by the trolley problem? Here is a link to the full text of Michael Moorcock's 1971 SF novel Breakfast in the Ruins. Moral conundrums at the end of every chapter for you.
posted to MetaFilter by infinitewindow at 7:15 PM on October 17, 2011 (42 comments)

Dave Lowery, lead singer and guitarist in Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, has a new side project: he's started blogging at 300songs.com. Recent topics include the bands, the labels (both the good and the bad), and what it's like to make a living as a musician, even if you have to sell out to do it.
posted to MetaFilter by dvorak_beats_qwerty at 4:08 PM on April 26, 2011 (33 comments)

The Black Album is a Prince record that was originally planned for release in December 1987, as the follow-up to Sign o' the Times. ... The 1987 promo-only release had no printed title, artist name, production credits or photography printed; a simple black sleeve accompanied the disc. ... The album was canceled mere days before its scheduled release, after hundreds of thousands of copies were pressed. A few escaped destruction, and rank among the most coveted Prince collectibles. In addition, the Black Album became the most bootlegged record of all time.
posted to MetaFilter by Trurl at 1:17 PM on June 2, 2011 (56 comments)

Dan Savage speaks about the concept of monogamy.
posted to MetaFilter by reenum at 10:47 AM on June 30, 2011 (315 comments)

The Eternal Shame of the Online Handle asks prominent digirati about the source of their original online name (and features mathowie). Aside from embarrassment, those who chose their handles or avatars lightly may ultimately suffer, since research suggests that you may become more like your avatar. With the decline of the pseudonym, including for those who might rather be anonymous, online handles may be turning into a thing of the past, (MeFi excepted). What's the story of your original handle? [My original screen name on Prodigy was nicodemus, cause magical rats were awesome in the 1990s]
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 10:02 AM on June 30, 2011 (228 comments)

Reality 86'd. A documentary by David Markey of the last Black Flag tour in 1986. Besides the Flag (Greg Ginn, Henry Rollins, Cel Revulta, and Anthony Martinez), the tour lineup also included Painted Willie and Gone, which featured two future members of the Rollins Band. Rollins mentioned the documentary on Twitter--actually, his second-ever tweet.
posted to MetaFilter by Halloween Jack at 5:49 PM on May 13, 2011 (5 comments)

Today's Guardian Review is a science fiction special
posted to MetaFilter by fearfulsymmetry at 2:01 AM on May 14, 2011 (88 comments)

Meet Doctor Doom "Forty years ago, with his band Pentagram, Bobby Liebling invented a style of fiendishly heavy metal that hardly anyone heard. He spent the ensuing decades in a haze of hard drugs and big trouble. (5 arrests, 35 detoxes, more than 200 hospital visits.) Now, with the genre he spawned on the rise and a young wife and baby boy in tow, Liebling is feeling the first rumblings of success. Here's where things start to get weird."
posted to MetaFilter by zarq at 8:03 AM on April 20, 2011 (26 comments)

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. (Previously)
posted to MetaFilter by DU at 8:23 AM on August 7, 2009 (35 comments)

The story of SST Records
posted to MetaFilter by Joe Beese at 10:26 AM on September 18, 2010 (34 comments)

I made an IRC bot for #mefi on Slashnet. It's written in Python, is multithreaded, has a robust plugin system, and supports interacting with Twitter and Tumblr via plugins.
posted to MetaFilter Projects by cellphone at 9:21 AM on February 11, 2011 (1 comment)

A look back at 1971's "Albert Brooks' Famous School for Comedians," a founding document for a generation of humorists.
posted to MetaFilter by Iridic at 10:38 AM on February 10, 2011 (13 comments)

This interview, conducted by family friend Todd McCormack, took place in 1988, when Roald Dahl was 71. As Dahl himself said, “I have worked all my life in a small hut up in our orchard. It is a quiet private place and no one has been permitted to pry in there.” He not only let Todd McCormack inside the hut, but also have him a rare insight into how he worked, where his ideas came from, and how he shaped them into unforgettable stories. Roald Dahl passed away in 1990, two years after the interview.
posted to MetaFilter by infini at 4:17 AM on January 23, 2011 (13 comments)

Horizon asks "What is reality?" -- youtube for links for those outside the UK: 1, 2, 3, 4. It's a hard question. To help you answer it, Stanford has a set of free courses available on line by Leonard Susskind: General Relativity, Cosmology, New Revolutions in Particle Physics, Quantum Entanglement, Special Relativity, Classical Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, The Standard Model. (Each link is to lecture 1 of a full college course of a dozen or so lectures.) If you need help with the math, the Khan Academy should help get you up to speed.
posted to MetaFilter by empath at 8:13 AM on January 23, 2011 (67 comments)

An interactive overview of Metal history, in map form. Flash.
posted to MetaFilter by zamboni at 9:10 PM on December 3, 2010 (42 comments)

Ted Chiang is perhaps the finest author in contemporary science fiction -- and the most rarefied. A technical writer by trade and a graduate of the distinguished Clarion Writers Workshop, Chiang has published only twelve short stories in the last twenty years, one dozen masterpieces of the genre whose insightful, precise, often poetic language confronts fundamental ideas -- intelligence, consciousness, the nature of God -- and thrusts them into a dazzling new light. Click inside for a complete listing of Chiang's work, with links to online reprints or audio recordings where available, as well as a collection of one-on-one interviews, links to his nonfiction essays, and a few other related sites and articles.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 11:11 AM on December 27, 2010 (116 comments)

Three subway map design titans come together in one room to debate form versus function in NYC's transit map
posted to MetaFilter by auto-correct at 6:37 PM on December 10, 2010 (30 comments)

James Burke's popular television show Connections is available in its entirety online. Connections, which ran in 1978, was a unique take on the question of historical and scientific advancement. From wikipedia: "The series traced paths of invention and discovery through their interrelationships in history, with each episode chronicling a particular path, usually in chronological order. ... It was followed by the 20-part Connections2 (1994) and then the 10-part Connections3 (1997) series. Later, it was shown in more than 50 countries and appeared in about 350 university and college curricula. Additionally, the book that followed the series was also a best seller."
posted to MetaFilter by SpacemanStix at 9:59 AM on December 9, 2010 (75 comments)

Measure-theoretic probability: Why it should be learnt and how to get started. The clickable chart of distribution relationships. Just two of the interesting and informative probability resources I've learned about, along with countless other tidbits of information, from statistician John D. Cook's blog and his probability fact-of-the-day Twitter feed ProbFact. John also has daily tip and fact Twitter feeds for Windows keyboard shortcuts, regular expressions, TeX and LaTeX, algebra and number theory, topology and geometry, real and complex analysis, and beginning tomorrow, computer science and statistics.
posted to MetaFilter by grouse at 11:15 AM on December 5, 2010 (17 comments)

Is Batman a State Actor? Could you pass a Mutant Registation Act? Law And The Multiverse considers legal matters in a world of capes, supes, and alternate dimensions. (via Mefiprojects)
posted to MetaFilter by The Whelk at 2:50 PM on November 30, 2010 (32 comments)

Ruby on Rails for Zombies
posted to MetaFilter by Artw at 12:46 PM on November 18, 2010 (44 comments)

The Island by Peter Watts (previously), winner of this years Hugo Award for Best Novelette. An audio version is available over at StarShipSofa (previously), itself a Hugo recipient.
posted to MetaFilter by Artw at 5:07 PM on September 5, 2010 (31 comments)

Help me and my sons (10, 7) learn to play the drums.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by unSane at 10:15 PM on July 24, 2010 (15 comments)

Chronic Citizen: Erik Davis interviews Jonathan Lethem on Phillip K. Dick. (via)
posted to MetaFilter by kliuless at 10:40 PM on April 15, 2010 (11 comments)

Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life, a philosophically meandering webcomic, has been updated after a long hiatus. Previously
posted to MetaFilter by dubusadus at 3:32 PM on July 16, 2010 (14 comments)

Ricky Jay's legendary book, "Cards As Weapons," is out of print. Used copies are expensive. Luckily, you can read it here. (The book contains some NSFW content.) I've you're new to Ricky Jay, start here.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee at 4:41 PM on June 17, 2010 (37 comments)

Fine Structure: Ching raises one hand ahead of him and delivers a series of complex commands to the fabric of reality.
posted to MetaFilter by niles at 12:03 PM on March 22, 2010 (9 comments)

I'm gonna 'splain to you what the Purdie shuffle is all about... Woooo! Don't worry about those ghost notes! Ain't nuthin' but rebounds! We're gonna take an extra step! I'm gonna go to my cowbell! You don't have to be a tub-thumper yourself to dig master percussionist Bernard "Pretty" Purdie's infectiously joyous drum instruction videos. Yeah!
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 6:40 AM on February 24, 2010 (21 comments)

Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python: PDF
posted to MetaFilter by vostok at 9:05 AM on February 22, 2010 (45 comments)

Gödel, Escher, Bach, Tumblr Gödel, Escher, Bach, Tumblr is an online book group. We're reading one chapter a week of Douglas Hofstadter’s 1979 masterpiece book about artificial intelligence, mathematics, consciousness, puzzles, music, and language. They've been reading since the start of the month, so start in the archive. [Previously, More Previously, Event more previously, Previously in the future]
posted to MetaFilter by Deathalicious at 9:57 AM on January 20, 2010 (30 comments)

Burgess & McDowell discuss A Clockwork Orange with film historian William Everson (who talks a little too much.)
posted to MetaFilter by OmieWise at 8:59 AM on December 7, 2009 (21 comments)

A free computer-programming course on reddit. Click "prev" for more lessons. 113 lessons so far.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee at 8:37 AM on October 24, 2009 (89 comments)