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Most of us are whiners, blaming circumstances for our failings; a precious few function in a self-sufficient bubble and able to shape their circumstances, never accepting the role of being a victim. Inder Parmar is such a man.
posted by semmi at 11:07 PM PST - 9 comments

Fantastic Zoology: A graphical interpretation of Jorge Luis Borges' "Book of Imaginary Beings".
posted by hama7 at 6:54 PM PST - 12 comments

28MM a photography magazine.
posted by Gyan at 6:31 PM PST - 6 comments

There is talk of rebuilding the Bamiyan Buddhas, and some archaeologists are looking for a third Buddha (I think the cows and sheep are more useful.) A greater loss may be Medecins Sans Frontieres pulling out because of the lack of security. There is optimism in Afghanistan, but attacks are on the increase, and some are worried that it may still implode.
posted by homunculus at 5:20 PM PST - 49 comments

The Pope to Women: "get back in your place" - The Vatican, fearing it may still share some semblance of the same reality as the rest of us seeks to rectify this problem by telling women that they should stop hoping for the same things as men have.

"The obscuring of the difference or duality of the sexes has enormous consequences on a variety of levels," the document said, asserting it has inspired ideologies that "call into question the family, in its natural two-parent structure of mother and father."

It also warned of challenges to fundamentals of church teaching, saying the blurring of differences "would consider as lacking in importance and relevance the fact that the Son of God assumed human nature in its male form."
posted by Space Coyote at 4:09 PM PST - 128 comments

The Orange Papers. A deconstruction of the 12 Steps of AA and their smilarity to cult practices.
posted by pieoverdone at 1:36 PM PST - 66 comments

I'd like to find the area under these curves... Boobies are good for just about everything. Why not teach calculus with them?
posted by qDot at 1:19 PM PST - 14 comments

Meet Vernon Blake. Vernon Blake was a Systems Admin for the Alabama Department of Transportation, and it was 'well known' in his office that a certain supervisor spent far more time playing solitare on his computer than he did doing anything else. Inspired by a campaign to stop waste in Alabama government, Vernon installed a screen capture utility which took 717 screenshots (.pdf) over 7 months, documenting a clear pattern of non-work related use of the computer. The results? The supervisor was given a written repremand. Vernon Blake was fired.
posted by anastasiav at 9:45 AM PST - 38 comments

Spamusement Poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines. (via The Ultimate Insult)
posted by Turtles all the way down at 9:23 AM PST - 17 comments

Bush camp solicits race of Star staffer. President Bush's re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney.
The jounalist's name was Mamta Popat. She sure sounds like a terrorist.
posted by JeffK at 8:45 AM PST - 30 comments

The Ethnomathematics Digital Library , a collection of links and papers covering the interaction of mathematics and culture. (More Inside)
posted by thatwhichfalls at 8:45 AM PST - 4 comments

Matt Drudge allegedly steals photo from Tom Tomorrow and manipulates it for whatever reasons make sense to Matt Drudge.
posted by crunchland at 7:26 AM PST - 26 comments

Debunking the 59 Deceits vs Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11.
posted by mcsweetie at 6:57 AM PST - 24 comments

The Quiet American: one minute vacations.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:57 AM PST - 10 comments

The Lewis Walpole Library has digitized 10,000 images from its superb collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century satirical prints -- not the only collection of its kind on the Internet, but certainly one of the largest and best. Search under "Gillray", "Rowlandson" or "Cruikshank" and browse a selection of images from the golden age of English caricature. Everyone will have their own favourites, but here are a few of mine: Rowlandson's Author and Bookseller, Cruikshank's The Headache and Gillray's Advantages of Wearing Muslin Dresses.
posted by verstegan at 2:04 AM PST - 4 comments

The Top 50 Worst Guitar Solos (revisited). On Jimmy Page's solo in Radioactive: He pieces together an angular, steely synth-guitar catastrophe that probably only the eunuchs in Yes could warm up to. And Angus Young's solo on "Ballbreaker": Take away the hyperactive Chuck Berry duckwalking and frantic head- bobbing and you're left with some extremely constipated rockabilly soloing. And what the fuck is these guys' fixation with men's genitalia all about, anyway? [more inside]
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:43 AM PST - 54 comments

RPG's as an art form (via Something Awful) " I've also been encountering different variations of the same monsters; for example, I was walking in these hills and was attacked by a slime with Ray Bans and a fedora. Another time it was a slime with a fake beard and glasses. I think whoever is producing these things, either the Dragonlord or some bored wizard, just ran out of ideas and are dressing them up to fool adventurers such as myself. I'm harder to trick than that, you sly devils. "
posted by sourbrew at 1:21 AM PST - 7 comments

Road Trip USA. This simply titled site is one of the better travel sites I have seen for back-road ramblings around the USA. Not only are the routes described some of the best, the writing is extensive (at least book length), of high quality and obviously by someone who has traveled every single mile personally. I only wish I had it on my last trip. Recommended for the arm-chair or car-seat traveler alike.
posted by stbalbach at 10:43 PM PST - 4 comments

The exact time.
posted by semmi at 10:37 PM PST - 17 comments

The relief of pain and suffering , and the history of bloodletting, courtesy of the UCLA Online Medical Library Online Exhibits.
posted by plep at 10:27 PM PST - 3 comments

No time to pick out your own music? Still like the CD format? Live in the UK? Well has The Rough Trade Shop got a club for you. Is this outmoded on arrival or an interesting variant on old style "X-Of-the-Month" clubs? I know I sometimes find it overwhelming to keep up with what's new'n'exciting.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:57 PM PST - 8 comments

Matt Darey just released a new album. Not a huge deal in itself, I suppose, but hearing it made me curious. So I found Trance Airwaves. Which led me to this site. All because I listen to this internet radio station. Makes me glad that I decided to listen to trance tonight.
posted by BlueTrain at 7:15 PM PST - 6 comments

Wetcanvas.
posted by Gyan at 6:22 PM PST - 4 comments

Global warming hits UK birds. The year without young. Have we hit the bottleneck?
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 3:58 PM PST - 43 comments

Straussian.
posted by hama7 at 3:56 PM PST - 58 comments

Lost Dog Held for $10K Ransom
An elderly man went out for a walk with his dog, on the way home, the dog disappeared. A friend helped him make some Lost Dog posters and he waited by the phone for some good samaritan to return his only companion.
Instead, he got a call from someone demanding $10,000 or he'd never see his dog again. He gathered up half of his savings and went to pay the ransom. The dognapper brandished a knife, took the money and said the dog was tied up to a post nearby. It wasn't.
He went home brokenhearted until he heard a car door slam outside and his dog came running up to greet him. Now he wonders if the dognappers were putting him on the whole time.
posted by fenriq at 3:46 PM PST - 24 comments

Clinton Adviser Berger Cleared of Document Theft Oh. By the way...President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger -- who'd been accused of stealing classified material from the National Archives -- has been cleared of all wrongdoing.
posted by Postroad at 3:30 PM PST - 26 comments

'South Park' Drawn to Syndication Sex and the City is one thing and being shown on cable anyway, and I understand they've been shooting a syndication-friendly version of the Sopranos, but how will they clean up these cartoon freaks enough to appear on broadcast TV?
posted by billsaysthis at 2:36 PM PST - 26 comments

Funfurde reviews a a pony for your living room
posted by jazon at 1:50 PM PST - 3 comments

Throw Your Love Away

Probably not the most linkable link, nor is it the most interesting "quirky eBay item" post ever, but I can't resist an auction that doubles as a public service offering, particularly when they've included , "a picture of the lake I will throw it into" I kind of like the idea of a perpetual Bad Karma Dispose-All - the Anti-Wishing Well. Of course, there's always more here and of course, the local favorite for this sort of thing.
posted by piedrasyluz at 1:29 PM PST - 3 comments

Who's the teenage supersleuth with the superpowered cell phone who catches all the crooks? Ketai Deka.
posted by ursus_comiter at 9:47 AM PST - 7 comments

iTunes (and Audible) make the 9-11 Comission and speeches from the Democratic National Convention available for free downloads. Thought this was cool. Couldn't find a previous post about this, so pardon if a double post.
posted by rathikd at 9:18 AM PST - 12 comments

For nearly a quarter of a century Thor the Barbarian waged a lonely crusade against tyrannical bureaucracies and disempowering systems. Undaunted, he faced the monstrous social evils of our day head on, as an unsung organizational change agent... as a professional inside New York's vast mental health network. Real interview here (about a minute in) - scroll down to the Thor - LIVE link.
posted by dobbs at 8:55 AM PST - 4 comments

Thanks to Andre Tolme, now you will know that the capital of Mongolia is Ulaanbaatar, and that a par of 11,880 is possible. (Bonus golf link: Tundra Golf!)
posted by of strange foe at 8:54 AM PST - 8 comments

Illusions, Delusions, and Confusions: Mythical Geography in Antique Maps, courtesy the Philadelphia Print Shop. (via tui)
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:40 AM PST - 7 comments

Tired of engagement news? Break Up News is the place to get the skinny on recently ruptured romances or to announce to the world that you're back in the game. And, if you are, (or have other untraditional news you want to share,) consider Other Announcements, which offers greeting cards for calling off your engagement or wedding, moving in together, getting divorced, coming out, and getting your boobs done. (Though not all at the same time.)
posted by onlyconnect at 7:58 AM PST - 2 comments

Fuel Cell Breakthrough?
The University of Houston claims to have achieved a breakthrough in thin film solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). "Imagine a power source so small, yet so efficient, that it could make cumbersome power plants virtually obsolete" Utter marketing hype, or are they really onto something?
posted by Irontom at 7:42 AM PST - 6 comments

Copper - tales about Copper and Fred, his dog. By Kazu Kibuishi.
posted by PenDevil at 7:02 AM PST - 6 comments

Help the scarecrows scare the crows in this beautifully done Flash game: A Murder of Scarecrows.
posted by ewagoner at 6:47 AM PST - 22 comments

Skinbag - looking for that flayed flesh look for your fall fashion statement? Look no further, your epidermic, polysemic clothing and accessories are here.
posted by madamjujujive at 6:13 AM PST - 23 comments

Pages of the Past The Toronto Star has digitized each of its issues from 1892-2001. And they're searchable. And they're online. Unfortunately, access starts at about a buck an hour—but 1945 is free!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 5:20 AM PST - 7 comments

We have all seen online quizzes to aid in making important life choices. For instance, this quiz purports to guide you in making career choices. Confused about religion and seeking to find a faith that suits your beliefs, now we have Belief-O-Matic.
posted by caddis at 4:32 AM PST - 22 comments

This madness has to stop, and the fastest way of doing that is to elect John Kerry, not because he will be different but because in most key areas - Iraq, the "war on drugs", Israel/Palestine, free trade, corporate taxes - he will be just as bad. An opinion piece by Naomi Klein in today's Guardian.
posted by acrobat at 4:20 AM PST - 26 comments

Panopticon Lavoisier
posted by thatwhichfalls at 3:47 AM PST - 6 comments

Explorations of computation: the world is numbers, and the divine a mathematician. Maybe. [Flash, Javascript]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:06 AM PST - 5 comments

Today is the 5th Annual System Administrator Appreciation Day! Time to think of those who keep our favorite sites running.
posted by tcp at 1:42 AM PST - 7 comments

In His Own Words -- just in time for FlashQuicktime Friday, Bush's own words, from 2003's State of the Union matched with more appropriate and now-historic imagery than a man standing behind a teleprompter and podium. (Warning: some graphic stuff inside.) Realplayer version available here. and perhaps because not everything deserves the lighthearted jibjab treatment.
posted by amberglow at 9:11 PM PST - 46 comments

Internet Explorer 7. Dean Edwards does what a team of developers with billions behind them apparently can't -- update IE to work with modern standards. Almost, anyway... as he says, it's still in alpha, and has its quirks, but check out the Pure CSS Menus demo, for example.
posted by weston at 4:57 PM PST - 19 comments

Sam's Telecomms Index.
posted by hama7 at 3:50 PM PST - 1 comment

Giving back to the grid... looks like the idea that AC Propulsion has of empowering owners of electric cars to send energy back into the grid (like wind and solar consumers) is getting noticed.
posted by silusGROK at 3:02 PM PST - 14 comments

A guide to the English school system. From the BBC. This certainly explained a few things for me. (And remember, private school = public school)
posted by iffley at 2:49 PM PST - 7 comments

THE TERROR WEB. Were the Madrid bombings part of a new, far-reaching jihad being plotted on the Internet?
posted by semmi at 2:23 PM PST - 21 comments

Earlier this month, internal white house rumors were leaked saying that ideally, it'd be great to find an Al Queda suspect during the week of the Democratic National Convention, since the Democrats would likely be grabbing headlines. Sounds like some crass opportunism instead of truly protecting the republic from terrorists, doesn't it?

Well, what do you know, today this message floated at the top of CNN.com, more important than Kerry's keynote. Even though the guy was caught on Sunday, we don't hear about it until today. Foxnews looks the same way (screenshot), with the Al Queda headline above Kerry's one day in the sun at Fox News. But it's all just a coincidence and we're not being played like a fiddle. Sure.
posted by mathowie at 1:29 PM PST - 94 comments

Ricky Quits Football to Smoke Dope
Ricky Williams knew he'd failed a third drug test and retired from football before his coach found out.
Says Ricky, "I didn't quit football because I failed a drug test," he told the Herald. "I failed a drug test because I was ready to quit football."
Williams said he's not addicted to marijuana. And I'm sure he can quit anytime he wants to but maybe he got confused and quit his profession instead of his "hobby"?
Is this the first time a star athlete's quit because he wants to hang out and smoke dope?
posted by fenriq at 12:28 PM PST - 77 comments

Test your reading speed. How many words per minute do you read? [via waxy]
posted by riffola at 11:45 AM PST - 59 comments

Attention Alabama Sex Toy Shoppers: the Feds have agreed that you will have to buy your buttplugs, rabbit pearls, and french ticklers elsewhere.
posted by tsarfan at 11:27 AM PST - 33 comments

Barefoot Solar Engineers. India's Barefoot College teaches poor and illiterate women to build and maintain rural solar systems in areas with little or no electric supply. [Via WorldChanging.]
posted by homunculus at 11:06 AM PST - 7 comments

When paleoclimatologist William Hyde was asked whether he'd be watching the well-known educational film The Day After Tomorrow, he replied that he wouldn't endure it unless he was given $100. This challenge set in motion a series of wholly predictable events which saw the denizens of rec.arts.sf.written heroically raising the required sum against Hyde's protestations and duly sent him packing to cinema.

What did Hyde think? "The best summary of the movie comes from The Simpsons: 'It's cold and there are wolves.' - Abe."
posted by adrianhon at 10:31 AM PST - 27 comments

For almost ten years, independent rock critic Glenn Mcdonald has kept a highly personal and elegantly well-written music column, The War Against Silence. He has championed artists popular and obscure, and remembered acts that others might regard as 1980s nostalgia with melancholy and grace. As his past few columns have vacillated between the personal and the musical, he has opted to end his run at the beginning of September.
posted by pxe2000 at 10:02 AM PST - 16 comments

RIP Francis Crick. The man who helped discover the secret of life is dead.
posted by rushmc at 9:41 AM PST - 31 comments

Roadside Online. A blog about Diners.
posted by dchase at 9:04 AM PST - 5 comments

A political party urges Miami voters to use absentee ballots because electronic voting has no paper trail and cannot "verify your vote." The Democrats? Nope -- the Florida GOP.
posted by tregoweth at 8:28 AM PST - 13 comments

This website exists because astrosociology is not yet a widely recognized subfield of sociology, and therefore it can benefit from a centralized approach. It is intended to serve as a catalyst for the growth of astrosociology from a general state of nonexistence.
As a little known sociologist fights his lonely quixotic battle to introduce a new sociology subfield, some who are stuck in their earthbound paradigm object.
posted by found missing at 7:03 AM PST - 8 comments

A longtime Jacksonville weblogger normally devoted to wonky subjects like his blogging software made a frank public admission on his weblog recently: "I had an affair with another woman. My wife was a severe depressive and I was uncaring and unfeeling towards her when she needed me the most."
posted by rcade at 6:52 AM PST - 55 comments

The physicist Shariah Afshar has used a beautifully simple experiment, which no-one seems to have thought of before, to disprove Bohr's principle of complementarity, something which has been pretty much unchallenged for 80 years. He may also have gone some way towards showing that there is no such thing as a photon, and that Einstein's Nobel prize should be revoked. So, big stuff. What do you physicists think?
posted by Pretty_Generic at 6:36 AM PST - 34 comments

Toronto librarian accused of being wanted Panther More info [1] [2][3][4]
posted by srboisvert at 5:56 AM PST - 21 comments

Three nice book links from the University of North Texas Libraries: 1. Victorian Bookbinding - Innovation and Extravagance has some gorgeous examples of bookcovers from the Art Nouveau, Victorian, and Arts and Crafts periods. 2. The Great Menagerie is an animated tour of 19th and 20th century pop-up books. 3. Pop-Up and Movable Books - A Tour, showcases pop-up book artists through the centuries, and includes the master of the genre, Lothar Meggendorfer. More about Meggendorfer inside ---->
posted by iconomy at 4:58 AM PST - 7 comments

Math that makes you go wow: A multi-disciplinary exploration of non-orientable surfaces.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:36 AM PST - 12 comments

In 1934, the only thing standing between a fascist coup and democracy in the United States was the courage and honor of one man.
posted by euphorb at 2:22 AM PST - 50 comments

"We wanted to be the store that your mother didn't want you to go to." Cult band leader Dale Lawrence covers the RIAA shutdown of an Indianapolis record store, Berry's Music, for "Selling DJ mix-CDs.". Lawrence has written about mashups for a few years now. Is he also a deejay?
posted by mwhybark at 11:02 PM PST - 8 comments

"When I picked his head up, it wasn't even connected," he recounts later that night in the rushed, excited tones of a youngster describing finding a forbidden fort in the woods. "The only thing holding his head on was skin. It felt like... wet goo. But with broken bones, so it was jagged. Squishy but crunchy. His head felt like solid Jello with shards of broken glass."
Gidget Gein picks up dead bodies.
posted by angry modem at 9:40 PM PST - 16 comments

Devirginize Marc dot com In short, up until now, just a few months shy of my 27th birthday, I am a virgin for one simple reason: the dream of making a Web site just like this. Is this what Internet dating has come to?
posted by onlyconnect at 8:10 PM PST - 42 comments

Michael Moore vs. Bill O'Reilly No, I'm not kidding. And yes, it is a Drudge link. Watch O'Reilly Godwin halfway through the interview.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 6:28 PM PST - 85 comments

G.O.P. D.O.A. , the new novel by Brooklyn-based Contemporary Press, just got denied a reprinting by St. Louis-based Plus Communications. Although they printed the first edition less than one month ago, the publisher says that their religious clients would be upset by the book's 'language' and have refused to reprint it.

I guess that is in the same spirit as Rev. Breedlove's attempt to rekindle the tradition of book burning earlier this month.
posted by Miyagi at 6:25 PM PST - 12 comments

(pod) Art, Music, Photography. Visit the gallery, listen to the radio, enjoy.
posted by thekorruptor at 6:06 PM PST - 5 comments

Wilmington News Journal features writer Ryan Cormier wrote a review of a Clay Aiken concert today. Word reached "The Clayboard" with a link to Ryan's newspaper-hosted blog which then got slammed with angry comments from Clay Mates. There are other News Blogs from this paper; they even cover scandals and legal transgressions by elected officials. But Ryan? He's done touched a nerve.
posted by mathowie at 4:18 PM PST - 22 comments

Birds' eggs.
posted by interrobang at 3:56 PM PST - 11 comments

The first black president of the United States.
posted by swift at 3:38 PM PST - 95 comments

Tax Man Bush says tax cuts stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, he's fallen more than 2.2 million jobs short of the projection made by his own economists.
posted by Postroad at 3:16 PM PST - 6 comments

I don't think Americans regard this war the same way they did previous wars.
posted by raaka at 1:29 PM PST - 66 comments

The true identity of the "mysterious" Atrios has been revealed.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 12:31 PM PST - 51 comments

Will Ferrell spoofs GWB for ACT ... "you caught me mending my fences, one of the many things i do on my ranch ..." (streaming QuickTime or WMV). i know it's partisan crap, but still pretty funny ... until the end.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:48 AM PST - 32 comments

We've heard that Triumph was thrown out of the DNC. Here's a recent interview with comic Robert Smigel about his insult comic dog, his new DVD, SNL, Comedy Central, Adam West, and more.
posted by braun_richard at 11:44 AM PST - 14 comments

Smoking Gun: Dentist Injects Semen into Patient's Mouths
In yet another freakish story that's almost too bizarre to believe, a dentist is accused of injecting semen into his patient's mouths during procedures.

I hope he gets a jail cell with the Penis Pumpin' Judge. Seriously though, what is wrong with these people? Do they want to get caught or are they just overtaken by their sexual fetishes that they lose control of themselves?
found via One Girl's Life
posted by fenriq at 11:37 AM PST - 29 comments

Florida county loses 2002 E-voting records in computer crash Ooooops. Do your Congresspeople and Senators support verified voting ? - Check the VerifiedVoting.org database (verifiedvoting.org previously mentioned here) to see if your political reps support H.R.2239 and S.1980, the tandem bills before the U.S. House and Senate which would mandate paper-trail voting. "Electronic miscounts of votes are a fact, not a theory...Technologists warn that electronic voting machines are flawed. They say we should "trust but verify." " Others disagree....with Democracy.
posted by troutfishing at 11:00 AM PST - 26 comments

Rape as a weapon of war: sexual violence and its consequences Amnesty International offers a stirring and comprehensive account of what's going on in Darfur: "When we tried to escape they shot more children. They raped women; I saw many cases of Janjawid raping women and girls. They are happy when they rape. They sing when they rape and they tell that we are just slaves and that they can do with us how they wish." [more inside]
posted by The God Complex at 10:39 AM PST - 38 comments

There are peasants who come from a simpler time and are willing to entertain you at your next corporate event.
posted by Stynxno at 10:19 AM PST - 13 comments

Remedios Varo Gallery: Lovers. Insomnia. Reborn. Hairy Locomotion. Vegetarian Vampires. Still Life Reviving. Varo, who always seems to have "neglected" before her name, was a Spanish-born surrealist in whose work "curious forces seem everywhere to compel even more curious people to acts of some charged significance." (inspired/reminded by this.)
posted by soyjoy at 9:39 AM PST - 9 comments

The Wall Street Journal offers RSS feeds ...headlines only, alas, and you still have to be a subscriber to read the full stories. But it's still a big endorsement of this technology by a major newspaper. Any other papers offering feeds? [Sample WSJ feed here, additional info inside.]
posted by me3dia at 8:52 AM PST - 11 comments

Tall Buildings (Flash required)
posted by riffola at 8:38 AM PST - 19 comments

The title screens of hundreds of your favourite movies
posted by Robot Johnny at 8:34 AM PST - 11 comments

The Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
posted by moonbird at 4:42 AM PST - 2 comments

Fantastical paintings from Chinese artist Fang He. I think I like Subway Underpass Bird best for its vague sense of creepiness, though Chinese Pavilion No. 1 appeals to my love of old time sci-fi illustrations. Check out similarly whimsical Zhang Gong's cute phallic creatures (NSFW), or peruse the large collection of artists at Courtyard-Gallery. (Related Chinese art posts here and here.)
posted by lychee at 1:26 AM PST - 6 comments

Free Speech Concentration Camp Zone
posted by limitedpie at 12:58 AM PST - 59 comments

Lincoln/Net Lincoln's political career in antebellum Illinois. View by "historical themes" or search for images, text, and audio.
posted by thomas j wise at 8:47 PM PST - 2 comments

DOWN FOR THE COUNT At around 8:50, Soubirous’s campaign manager, Brian Floyd, received a call from an election observer in Temecula informing him that the vote count had been stopped – apparently by Registrar Mischelle Townsend herself. The reason was not made clear. So Floyd and another Soubirous campaigner named Art Cassel jumped into a car and drove to Townsend’s office to investigate. Sure enough, the counting area appeared to be near-deserted. But then they noticed two men huddled at one of the vote tabulation computers.
posted by jonah at 7:40 PM PST - 53 comments

Impressionniste.
posted by hama7 at 5:49 PM PST - 6 comments

NASA's Cassini has found the Death Star.
posted by MrAnonymous at 5:21 PM PST - 34 comments

Craig Venter is on an expedition to collect the DNA of everything on the planet and sequence the genome of Mother Earth.
posted by homunculus at 3:54 PM PST - 12 comments

While much of the blogging world has been ga-ga over getting into the Democratic National Convention, it's tough to find anything interesting going on among the convention bloggers (to their credit, go turn on CSPAN today and see for yourself how boring it is). While our own Jessamyn is there (here are profiles of everyone going), I've found the strange CNN/Technorati partnership to be the most useful thing. Technorati founder David Sifry is basically doing a metafilter of all convention blogs over on CNN as the daily blog roundup, highlighting the posts worth reading among the participants.
posted by mathowie at 11:20 AM PST - 36 comments

How To Insult Gay Men And Women At The Same Time: Isn't Arnold Shwarzenegger getting a bit of a free ride? Sixties hero Paul Krassner (who notoriously described LBJ avidly fornicating JFK's bullet holed cranium on Air Force One) may be mellower and less forthright but his instincts seem as acute as ever. Btw, what other 60s yippies and figureheads are still relevant?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:50 AM PST - 43 comments

USA Today Dumps Ann Coulter
Citing editorial differences, USA Today dropped Ann Coulter's column before it even began in the paper.

The disputed column on www.anncoulter.com begins "Here at the Spawn of Satan convention in Boston" and devolves rapidly into a bitter little snark against Democrats. I wonder why USA Today had a problem with it?

It ends with "I'd say I love all these Democrats in Boston so much I want them to go home, but I don't. I want Americans to get a good long look at the French Party and keep the 7-11 challenge in mind."
posted by fenriq at 10:34 AM PST - 139 comments

This job would be great if it weren't for the customers... Demon customers might not just annoy employees, but they may actually cost businesses money. Maybe a guide would be useful.
posted by drezdn at 10:20 AM PST - 62 comments

Toppling Saddam: Iraq and American Military Transformation (pdf) The relative speed and ease of the first phase of the war in Iraq are due in part to U.S. military prowess, but also to Iraqi weakness, according to a critical internal account prepared for the U.S. Army."The shortcomings of Saddam's military played an important role in limiting the cost of major combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Coalition strengths were important contributors, but so were Iraqi weaknesses."As a result, there are "important limitations on the Iraq War's lessons for other defense planning challenges.... The Iraqis' shortcomings created a permissive environment for Coalition technology that a more skilled opponent elsewhere might not," according to the study Foreword. The study, which does represent an official U.S. Army perspective, has not been formally released. See also Joe Galloway: Don't Take Too Much From U.S.' Iraq War Experience See also The Fallacies Of Military Transformation See also Victory Misunderstood: What the Gulf War Tells Us About the Future of Conflict See also Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare
posted by y2karl at 10:01 AM PST - 19 comments

B2B. Band to Band links. 6 degrees for music.
posted by srboisvert at 8:03 AM PST - 27 comments

So Jason Giambi (likely) has amoebas in his intestines. Funny, this is the kind of potentially fatal illness someone gets when their immune system is weakened by anabolic steroids. A good doctor of a professional athelete is going to tell his patient "if you want to, you know, live through this, stop taking steroids." Maybe that's why Giambi is only hitting .220 and looks like a pale facsimile of his former self. So given the BALCO investigation and baseball's utter unwillingness to address this issue seriously, how much longer do these guys get away with asking "Who you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes?" before a prominent player goes the way of Lyle Alzado? Is it none of our business? Are steroids just part of modern sports?
posted by McBain at 2:27 AM PST - 61 comments

"withdraw these materials immediately and destroy all copies by any means to prevent disclosure of their content," Just when you wanted to go to the library and get your copy of the "Civil and Criminal Forfeiture Procedure" and "Select Federal Assets Forfeiture Statute" brochures - the Department of Justice says that they were for internal use only and not intended for the eyes of the public. Is this something to be concerned about or conspiracy in action?
posted by nyoki at 1:43 AM PST - 51 comments

LastFM "is a personalised online radio station that plays the right music to the right people. Songs spread from listener to listener." Using data from the groovy Audioscrobbler, this is pretty damn cool. But, like #1 said, it can't possibly be legal...
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:03 PM PST - 22 comments

"You know, Luke Skywalker was able to kill the Death Star with his beleaguered band of warriors, but I'm not sure that that's the model we should shoot for -- shoot the thing down the middle of the tube and hope it blows up the Death Star. We need to build our own answer to the Death Star.'' The beginning of the end for the Democratic Party, at least in name? (And what will take its place? Is the Republic turning into the Empire?)
posted by Tlogmer at 9:41 PM PST - 24 comments

Getting back into the groove : In the corner of a California university laboratory, two men are battling against time to perfect a machine that will read old recordings - using special microscopes to scan the grooves - and software that can convert those shapes into sound. Their work could bring history to life.
posted by starscream at 7:02 PM PST - 15 comments

Measuring personality types on the internet has been beaten to death. But a new survey at the University of Baltimore is trying to take into account typical social tasks including shopping, IMing, blogging, video chatting, online gaming as well as more solitary tasks; surfing for sex (pr0n, dating sites). The web has
posted by cpfeifer at 5:40 PM PST - 14 comments

Good gentles, ever wanted to have someone build you a castle?
posted by moonbird at 5:36 PM PST - 8 comments

The Dead Bug Funeral Kit. "We are saddened by your loss. We hope The Dead Bug Funeral Kit will honor your bug." Includes The Buggy Book Of Eulogies!
posted by braun_richard at 5:15 PM PST - 8 comments

CGFA - A Virtual Art Museum.
posted by hama7 at 5:14 PM PST - 2 comments

The presidential campaign of 1912. Historian James Chace talks about the campaign, its spirit of progressive reform, and how the Taft-Roosevelt schism led to the GOP turning right.
posted by homunculus at 3:16 PM PST - 11 comments

Realizing the Promise and Potential of African Agriculture
Africa is rich in both natural and human resources, yet nearly 200 million of its people are undernourished because of inadequate food supplies. Comprehensive strategies are needed across the continent to harness the power of science and technology (S&T) in ways that boost agricultural productivity, profitability, and sustainability -- ultimately ensuring that all Africans have access to enough safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs. This report addresses the question of how science and technology can be mobilized to make that promise a reality.
posted by tcp at 11:44 AM PST - 13 comments

Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista, others under attack? Despite all the big IPO news about Google, the bigger news today is that it doesn't work. Slap on an age-discrimination suit while we're at it, and potential trouble for the IPO. Have Larry and Sergei finally pissed off the wrong people?
posted by mrgrimm at 11:00 AM PST - 31 comments

A threat to national security! Adam McGaughey, the owner of a Stargate fansite has been slapped with criminal charges (Criminal Copyright Infringement and Trafficking in Counterfeit Services) after being reported to the FBI by the MPAA for including Amazon links to encourage fans to purchase DVDs of the show. To build its case, the FBI invoked a provision of the USA Patriot Act to obtain financial records from his ISP. And, since he "conspired" with thousands of fans worldwide by providing these Amazon Market links, he could be facing up to 20 years in jail if the government invokes RICO.
posted by headspace at 9:20 AM PST - 63 comments

Is The New York Times a Liberal Newspaper? Of course it is. By Daniel Okrent, New York Times Ombudsman Public Editor. (reg. req'd)
posted by pardonyou? at 8:43 AM PST - 36 comments

Backyard Third World

John F. Kennedy saw it and pronounced it a shame on our nation. Lyndon B. Johnson tried to change it. The "compassionate conservatives" have exacerbated it. I wanted to share it with you. Isn't it time for real change? Hasn't the exploitation of this place and these people gone on long enough?
posted by nofundy at 7:36 AM PST - 34 comments

I've seen it happen where these types of managers have the nerve to hold this type of book up in front of a group of people and imply the problem is the workforce for not choosing to be happy about poor leadership. From an Amazon review of Fish!. I've been motivated with that twice. A friend of mine was encouraged to take The Flight of the Buffalo and another is going to a sponsored Dale Carnegie class. So, who's moved your cheese?
posted by pieoverdone at 5:42 AM PST - 55 comments

Stewardess Uniform Collection.
posted by srboisvert at 4:09 AM PST - 7 comments

Ted Turner is mad as hell and not going to take it anymore: "the government [is] not doing its job. The role of the government ought to be like the role of a referee in boxing, keeping the big guys from killing the little guys."
posted by limitedpie at 12:51 AM PST - 22 comments

487 2398 (5617)
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posted by wendell at 7:41 PM PST - 63 comments

In the early 70's explosion of singer-songwriters, one great one's career was tragically cut short, just over 30 years ago. His lyricism, humor, unpretentious manner, and ear for a hook are sadly missed and rarely remebered these days. The recent release of archival material might help revive interest.
posted by jonmc at 6:35 PM PST - 55 comments

Robert Yager. Cool b & w gang photos.via coolios
posted by johnny7 at 6:12 PM PST - 6 comments

ConventionBloggers.com
An aggregation of bloggers is attending the DNC, and here is a combined feed, courtesy of Dave Winer. If this isn't enough to send you into spasms of delirious ecstasy, you might also wish to explore politics.feedster.com and politics.technorati.com.
posted by cbrody at 5:35 PM PST - 15 comments

"Animal Vegetable Video endeavors to create the world's largest collection of video footage that has been captured from the perspective of animals, plants, and the environments they inhabit." The navigation is a little wacky (click on the animal to see a video, or on the habitat to see more videos), but anyone crazy enough to strap a camera on the back of a tarantula is okay by me.
posted by majcher at 5:28 PM PST - 3 comments

Kerry's Democrats: The Conservative Party? So thinks Andrew Sullivan: "I may not find myself the only conservative moving slowly and reluctantly toward the notion that Kerry may be the right man - and the conservative choice - for a difficult and perilous time." Similar thoughts were published recently by AEI: "If the terms 'liberal' and 'conservative' still had any meaning in American foreign policy, George Bush would happily style himself the true liberal--the radical, even--in the upcoming election and paint Kerry as the conservative, the reactionary." Food for thought in front of the convention this week.
posted by dagny at 5:16 PM PST - 41 comments

Bell System Memorial.
posted by hama7 at 5:05 PM PST - 6 comments

Syashin Mania is a collection of photos of pop culture Japan. In this case it is fan car art of Ayumi Hamasaki, a popular singer. (Some other pages on the site are NSFW.)
posted by gen at 4:18 PM PST - 12 comments

Pokerinathens.org. Passionately dedicated to bringing poker to the 2004 summer games. Funny.
posted by braun_richard at 3:24 PM PST - 6 comments

Bananaphone, Part II: In which evil itself is emerges via Raffi. [Flash, via Tofu Hut]
posted by moonbird at 1:36 PM PST - 9 comments

Bush administration seeks to block consumer drug suits. White House says injury claims undermine FDA.
Gee. I don't know why we might need some legal recourse against drug manufacturers?
Weasels!
posted by jpburns at 12:41 PM PST - 33 comments

"Consumer advocate Ralph Nader's quixotic presidential campaign says it submitted about 5,400 signatures to get on the Michigan ballot, far short of the required number of 30,000. Luckily for him, approximately 43,000 signatures were filed by Michigan Republicans on his behalf, more than meeting the requirement." In a two-party system, do third parties become nothing but stooges?
posted by reklaw at 12:36 PM PST - 94 comments

Blackwashing --So I tuned into C-SPAN with interest to hear what a leading voice in the black conservative movement had to say. But then a funny thing happened: the African-American spokesperson for Project 21 caught a flat on the way to the studio, and the group's director had to fill in. And he was white. CSPAN video here (real)--bizarre
posted by amberglow at 12:16 PM PST - 63 comments

Zen. A nice flash intro. Use the mouse, Grasshopper!
Yes, it shows lack of enlightenment to smite the buzzing fly, but it's the only way you'll get into the site, so overcome your Buddha-nature for once in your life.
posted by languagehat at 11:45 AM PST - 16 comments

Big Ideas. "Eating, sleeping, procreating, laughing - and trying to create a world in which we can do these things unmolested - have all been far greater drivers of human ingenuity than time machines or battery-operated scooters." - "We may no longer hold high hopes of the state, but if the study of individuals reminds us of our common humanity and prompts us to reassess the merits of the collective, let’s welcome it."
posted by MintSauce at 9:54 AM PST - 3 comments

Correcting the Record. In meticulous detail the 9/11 commission's report found that the hijackers had repeatedly broken the law in entering the United States, that Mr. bin Laden may have micromanaged the attacks but did not pay for them, that intelligence agencies had considered the threat of suicide hijackings, and that Mr. Bush received an August 2001 briefing on evidence of continuing domestic terrorist threats from Al Qaeda.
posted by the fire you left me at 7:26 AM PST - 56 comments

The inimitable Coney Island Mermaid Parade. OK, it was a month ago, but these photo galleries make for some fun browsing. Planning your costume for next year? Our resident mermaidologist offers some inspiration. (some nudity - it's mermaids after all!)
posted by madamjujujive at 6:36 AM PST - 11 comments

I love bees (via slashdot)
posted by seanyboy at 2:46 AM PST - 22 comments

What do you do if it's 1979 and you are a sixteen year old in East Germany? Your Mom and her boyfriend, an officer in the intelligence service, have decided to defect. If you are Thomas Wagner, you wait twenty-odd years, and then you post the whole experience to your blog.
posted by mwhybark at 2:32 AM PST - 14 comments

Giga Society: the world's most exclusive high IQ society, where an IQ of 196 or higher (one in a billion) is required to join. Not quite as cranially-advantaged? Well, there's always the Oath society, which'll take you if you're only one in a thousand (a mere 150 IQ or higher). Big brains and design skills (or language ones, for that matter) don't mix well, though, it would seem. [more inside]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:22 PM PST - 86 comments

World's Finest, Sandy Collora's new "trailer" featuring the the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight. (Quicktime required) Also check out his previous fan flick Batman: Dead End.
posted by riffola at 7:14 PM PST - 13 comments

Verizon goes Vonage? ATT, announced this week that it's giving up on residential phone service. And here, from the look of it, Verizon is starting to offer what I believe is Internet-based phone service. Is the Internet the future of phone?
posted by ParisParamus at 6:53 PM PST - 27 comments

"Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play."
The overriding ideal behind Ultimate frisbee is Spirit of the Game where sportsmanship is valued above all else. Next week is the World Ultimate & Guts Championships in Turku, Finland where 23 countries compete, so now is a great time to (re-)learn to play. Besides being lots of fun for everyone, it might even improve your career prospects.
posted by quiet at 6:00 PM PST - 13 comments

Francesco Petrarch & Laura deNoves.
posted by hama7 at 3:44 PM PST - 6 comments

The end of the light bulb? E. Fred Schubert, a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute "claims to have invented a 99-percent efficient reflector that promises to speed the replacement of light bulbs with LEDs." According to researchers, this could happen within the next five years. The current prototype is bankrolled by the ARPA and The National Science Foundation "recently award Schubert's team a $210,000 grant to create in three years a commercial version of his patented omnidirectional reflector."

"Schubert claimed that lighting accounts for 25 percent of U.S. electrical energy consumption. Since white LEDs emit more light per dollar and generate less unwanted heat, they are potentially a major energy saver." (see EE Times link)

Meanwhile, some of the oldtimers seem to be pretty refractory.
posted by tcp at 2:57 PM PST - 10 comments

Why I use a typewriter. All this talk of retro technology! Great essay from Bill Meissner on why he uses a typewriter. Also worth checking out is Ian Frazier's piece in The Atlantic about typewriter man Martin Tytell, and this interview with Harlan Ellison about why he can't use a computer to write with. (via Sassone)
posted by braun_richard at 2:20 PM PST - 33 comments

Software has no sense of humor. A man whose car bore personalized license plates reading 'NO PLATE' received notices for thousands of unpaid parking tickets. No, not an urban legend, Snopes says it is true. For more classic software bugs check out Software Glitches which includes some software induced disasters. I, Robot anyone?
posted by caddis at 1:50 PM PST - 12 comments

The Douglas Self Site is an eclectic mix of web oddities including The Museum of RetroTechnology, some less than successful audio projects and the truth about Roswell. The RetroTech Museum is full of forgotten mechanical devices like monowheels, pneumatic networks, gyrocars, and optical telegraphs. (via dm)
posted by euphorb at 12:30 PM PST - 2 comments

Palindromes
::shamelessly stolen from plep::
posted by anastasiav at 10:44 AM PST - 20 comments

The Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi now has a digital archive containing 10,000 images of medieval stained glass from English churches and cathedrals: a wonderful resource for anyone interested in medieval art. These stunning images of the windows at Fairford, in Gloucestershire, are just a tiny fraction of the extraordinary riches available on the site.
posted by verstegan at 7:40 AM PST - 14 comments

Genie Corp: The Splice Of Life. Creature Comforts [via BoingBoing]
posted by srboisvert at 6:29 AM PST - 1 comment

Cool wheelchairs.
posted by dg at 4:53 AM PST - 11 comments

The National Journal opens up its doors to the public for two weeks every four years. Best known for its annual vote ratings (which declared John Kerry most liberal senator of 2003), there's also ads galore, snarky coverage of the media, and more polls than you can shake your fist at.
posted by calwatch at 1:01 AM PST - 6 comments

Poll Shows Growing Arab Rancor at U.S. Arab views of the United States, shaped largely by the Iraq war and a post-Sept. 11 climate of fear, have worsened in the past two years to such an extent that in Egypt -- an important ally in the region -- nearly 100 percent of the population now holds an unfavorable opinion of the country, according to two polls due out today... More within
posted by y2karl at 12:06 AM PST - 125 comments

Slick Ball (shockwave) — Fun little German Marble Madness-type game.
posted by Space Coyote at 8:57 PM PST - 16 comments

Peer to Peer Politics Here's an idea the RIAA can get behind: Thad Anderson, a second-year student at St. John's School of Law, has launched a peer-to-peer network that allows users to access and share government documents. More than 600 court and government documents, including memos, communications and reports, are available on his OutragedModerates.org site, and can be accessed through the Kazaa, LimeWire and Soulseek P2P networks. Among those documents available are the Abu Ghraib prison scandal memos and the Senate Intelligence Committee report on government intelligence leading up to the Iraq War. The concept of using a P2P network to share embarrassing documents is interesting ... considering some in Congress have proposed an outright ban on the P2P file sharing systems that are widely used to trade music, movies and porn. via Politics1.com
posted by Rastafari at 8:28 PM PST - 9 comments

You may not have heard of Jansenism. But on May 1, 1727 one of its more prominent members, Francois de Paris, died. He was a popular fellow for his charitable works and lots of people visited his tomb. That's when things got weird. At first it was just a bunch of people claiming to have been cured of things like "cancerous tumors, paralysis, deafness, arthritis, rheumatism, ulcerous sores, persistent fevers, prolonged hemorrhaging, and blindness." Then things started to get really weird.

...The mourners also started to experience strange involuntary spasms or convulsions...the 'convulsionaires,' as they came to be called, displayed...the ability to endure without harm an almost unimaginable variety of physical tortures....

These events lasted years and were witnessed by thousands as well as commented on by the likes of David Hume and Voltaire. Louis-Basile Carre de Montgeron investigated it for the Paris Parliment and published La Vérité des Miracles in three volumes detailing the events. The tortures were asked for by the convulsionaires. Montgeron details one time when while having an iron drill hammered into a convulsionaire's stomach he, "maintained an 'expression of perfect rapture,' crying, 'Oh, that does me good! Courage, brother; strike twice as hard, if you can!'"
posted by john at 6:38 PM PST - 11 comments

Tombstone Generator
posted by quonsar at 6:12 PM PST - 42 comments

The Day is Mine, Trebek. Who wants to punch Ken Jennings in the face?
posted by Stan Chin at 4:36 PM PST - 56 comments

Oh, You Mean Those Records The Pentagon released "newly discovered payroll records from President Bush's 1972 service in the Alabama National Guard." The earlier statement that the records were inadvertently destroyed was an "inadvertent oversight." [Previously discussed here and here.]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:18 PM PST - 39 comments

IN AEDIBVS ALDI: The legacy of Aldus Manutius and his press.
posted by hama7 at 3:19 PM PST - 4 comments

Bottle Cap Tripod Travel lighter with it.
posted by thomcatspike at 3:06 PM PST - 14 comments

Air Marshals Say Passenger Overreacted. "The source said the air marshals on the flight were partially concerned (Annie) Jacobsen’s actions could have been an effort by terrorists or attackers to create a disturbance on the plane to force the agents to identify themselves." (Second story down, via atrios)
posted by solistrato at 2:32 PM PST - 33 comments

Creative misuse and abuse of musical tools with a lot of examples
posted by ronsens at 11:41 AM PST - 10 comments

Riding Giants. Stacy Peralta's new release, is a chronicle of big-wave surfing , from the pioneering men who ride mountains of the ‘60’s, to the humongous tow-in riders of today. To understand the enormity of their courage, read John Krakauer's epic account of Mark Foo's last ride. Check out the greatest photographed wipeout in surfing history. And read more about surfing's most evil wave and check out the waves at your favourite surfing break.
posted by F4B2 at 11:16 AM PST - 12 comments

"HEY MAN ... GREAT! I FEEL GOOFY, THE WAY MY OLD MAN LOOKS WHEN HE'S DRUNK!" - A famous word balloon from the Principia Discordia has recently been discovered to have its odd origins in an obscure comic book about heroin abuse from 1966.
posted by Peter H at 9:52 AM PST - 28 comments

America... through Europe's eyes Yes, there have been countless books and articles on this, but this is by far the best I've ever read. Part a review of the literature, part historical research, part personal reflection. it's a bit long though, so set some time aside. Hudson Review, via A&L Daily
posted by leotrotsky at 8:46 AM PST - 38 comments

In Fleep, a 44-page comic strip by Jason Shiga, the protagonist is trapped within a telephone booth sealed in concrete. Can he escape using what few resources are available to him?
posted by LinusMines at 8:19 AM PST - 38 comments

Composite images. The unsettling world of Viktor Koen.
posted by acrobat at 7:15 AM PST - 4 comments

Oxymorons
posted by anastasiav at 6:47 AM PST - 36 comments

The Velvet Underground's White Light White Heat played on banjo, bass guitar, ruler, music box, violin, toy piano, electric guitar, accordion, squeezebox, euphonium, ukulele, kazoo, xylophone, pixiphone, uumskither, mbira, pod, delay, turntable and percussion.
posted by ubueditor at 6:32 AM PST - 8 comments

According to multiple recent nationwide polls, the presidential race is a dead heat, with the spread within the margin of error. Some have Bush by a couple points, some say Kerry by a couple. But take a look at the way the race is represented by www.electoral-vote.com, which tracks polls state-by-state and takes electoral votes into account. Suddenly, the tally is Kerry 332, Bush 195.
posted by msacheson at 1:00 AM PST - 129 comments

Back to the Street without Joy: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Vietnam and Other Small Wars (PDF format) See also Collapsed Countries, Casualty Dread, and the New American Way of War. See also Planning for Conflict Termination and Post-Conflict Success. See also The Risk of Optimism in the Conduct of War. Parameters is a treasure trove.
posted by y2karl at 11:43 PM PST - 10 comments

Eyeballoverload can be described as follows: "Nick Spark is a California-based photographer who specializes in montage or composite photography. This is a technique in which dozens, if not hundreds, of photos are seamlessly pasted together to create a unified image. The result is a balanced, yet highly detailed view of reality... albeit slightly enhanced."
posted by euphorb at 10:27 PM PST - 8 comments

Crosby Nash 2004 offers voters a new choice in the upcoming November election -- all of the criminal history of David Crosby combined with the cynicism of Graham Nash. Says Nash of the Vice-Presidency: "’We’ll have two presidents, and between us we have vice covered." Somehow I don't think Neil Young would approve...
posted by denbot at 9:55 PM PST - 6 comments

Animusic Just saw a video from thes folks as a between shows filler on PBS. Remember Herbie Hancock's robotic music video from the mid-80s? This is classical music but even cooler--no hands used in playing--endorsed by Jon Anderson and Alan Parsons.
posted by billsaysthis at 8:04 PM PST - 9 comments

Straw House Blog. Coolhouse. Colorado house. When summer comes, I invariably start dreaming of places to live that are utterly unlike the standard Korean Concrete Beehive Box.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:45 PM PST - 11 comments

Google circa 1960
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 7:22 PM PST - 27 comments

Chimping: The Real Story (4 min. streaming QT movie) Whither goest thou, photojournalist cool, in the digital age? Pulitzer prize-winning photographer Rick Rickman knows about the business of photography, and his SportsShooter.com has videos of pro shooters (not just sports) talking about freelancing (more QT streaming).
posted by planetkyoto at 6:45 PM PST - 10 comments

Its Heartwarming Friday - the Sequel ! Hey there everyone ! Its Heartwarming time again ! check out Narelle's Fantastic Heartwarming Website and warm those cockles ! You can even cook a Heartwarming Meal or coo over at the Heartwarming nursery !
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:29 PM PST - 12 comments

It seems evident that here we all too aware of these, but just in case you're knee-deep in a flame war: conversational cheap shots.
posted by xmutex at 4:04 PM PST - 24 comments

According to the Paris Business Review, the Bill O'Reilly-led Boycott of French Goods is wreaking havoc on the French Economy. Or is it?
posted by psmealey at 3:58 PM PST - 13 comments

William Shatner covers 'Common People' by Pulp, with the help of Ben Folds and Joe Jackson. Album of further genius forthcoming. [thanks Suw!]
posted by feelinglistless at 2:42 PM PST - 41 comments

The Six Enneads - Plotinus.
posted by hama7 at 2:23 PM PST - 10 comments

The 9/11 Commission Report. In HTML with permalinked paragraphs, courtesy kottke. Also available in .pdf format from the WaPo.
posted by Ufez Jones at 2:10 PM PST - 44 comments

Discover the Russia you never knew.
posted by adzuki at 1:02 PM PST - 4 comments

REO, Styx and Journey. On a cruise ship. Now you can take that cruise and mingle with three 80's mega-bands (if you purchase the platinum package) for seven days. Tickets anyone? [via Kill Ugly Radio]
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:07 PM PST - 62 comments

Open Source Local Journalism. "A small California newspaper [The Northwest Voice] has undertaken a first-of-its-kind experiment in participatory journalism in which nearly all the content published in a regularly updated online edition and a weekly print edition is submitted by community members." Is the editor of your local newspaper aware of this?
posted by Blue Stone at 10:42 AM PST - 7 comments

Dunbar/Chiappin : 'New Body of Art' Series Collaboration between Andrew Dunbar (photographer) and Anthony Chiappin (painter)(Probably NSFW)
posted by ColdChef at 10:32 AM PST - 4 comments

Film composer Jerry Goldsmith died on Wednesday. At Deconstructing Goldsmith, you can find short and occasionally contentious commentaries on just about all of Goldsmith's scores, including rejected ones.
posted by Prospero at 10:06 AM PST - 10 comments

Kerry Edwards. Hi, My name is Kerry Edwards. Two years ago I registered this domain name to put up photos for my family and friends.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 10:04 AM PST - 32 comments

The Triangle Factory Fire of 1911. 'This site includes selected information on a terrible and unnecessary tragedy involving the death of many young working women in a New York City sweatshop at the beginning of the 20th century and the resulting investigations and reforms. '
posted by plep at 9:45 AM PST - 7 comments

"Mr. President, pardon Papa Jack" In 1908 a former Texas dockworker and inventor named Jack Johnson became the first African American boxer to ever win the world heavyweight title. His victory sparked race riots and prompted a search for a "great white hope" (writer Jack London asked white fighters to "wipe that smirk off Johnson's face"). But then Johnson defeated two "white hopes", one of whom was the legendary Jim Jeffries. In 1912, authorities went after Johnson in court. His crime? Messin' with the white woman. Charges were brought against him for violating the Mann Act, a federal law that made it a crime to transport a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes." He married the woman, but he was sentenced to a year in prison anyway. Johnson fled the country, living in Europe as a fugitive for seven years, losing his title Havana in 1915 to a much younger white opponent after a 26-round fight in 100-degree-plus heat (Johnson possibly threw the fight in exchange for leniency that he never received). He returned to the U.S. in 1920, surrendered and served a year. He never again was given a chance to reclaim the title. When he died in poverty aged 68 in a car crash, not one boxer attended his funeral. Now a group of US Senators (among them Hatch and McCain), prominent African Americans (Samuel L. Jackson, Jesse Jackson, many others) and boxing writers seek a posthumous Presidential pardon for "Papa Jack". (more inside)
posted by matteo at 7:52 AM PST - 26 comments

US Marines can go and drink their own piss , thanks to these guys.
posted by biffa at 7:42 AM PST - 16 comments

There goes my productivity today via Little Fluffy Industries
posted by tr33hggr at 6:40 AM PST - 20 comments

Does a mindboggling inventory of nonlethal weapons (pdf) depress you as further evidence of man's inhumanity to man? Or does it offer you the welcome relief of knowing there are enforcement options more palatable than "Time to get mediaeval on yo' ass, mofo"? (via John Robb)
posted by RichLyon at 6:03 AM PST - 14 comments

The forgotten technology - "I am a retired carpenter with 35 years experience in construction ... I have began to build a replica of Stonehenge with eight 10 ton blocks on end and 2 ton blocks on top. One man, no wheels, no rollers, no ropes, no hoist or power equipment, using only sticks and stones." (some slow loading clips on the pages)
posted by madamjujujive at 5:34 AM PST - 31 comments

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Linux on the Desktop [flash].
posted by reklaw at 2:27 AM PST - 38 comments

Rogue wave!
posted by magullo at 2:08 AM PST - 12 comments

In the "it takes all kinds" category, Cuddle Parties. After all, nothing says "No dry humping" like a thong.
posted by fvw at 1:03 AM PST - 89 comments

Eunoia ("beautiful thinking") is the shortest word in the English language that contains all five vowels. It is also the title of a poetry collection by Canadian author Christian Bok. In addition to writing each chapter using only words that contain one vowel, (Flash presentation of Chapter "E") Bok also greatly limits himself in other ways. An amazing accomplishment that won the $40 000 Griffith Poetry Prize in 2002, Eunoia is best experienced in its spoken form. (MP3 links) (If you don't know Bok's poetry, you still might know his other work. He has also created artificial languages for two television shows: Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict and Peter Benchley's Amazon.)
posted by Jaybo at 12:16 AM PST - 18 comments

somnambules is a choreographic and interactive show for the Internet in 12 scenes and their preludes. It puts together contact dance, painting, video and music. [note: shockwave]
posted by crunchland at 12:10 AM PST - 1 comment

Your Tax Dollars At Work! What better way to help the homeless find housing and employment than through a website? Surely the Internet is the solution to all society's problems.
posted by ilsa at 9:37 PM PST - 8 comments

The Great American 'Garage Mahal' - cars, houses and garages of the American super-sized new affluent class grow ever larger : "three separate two-car garages attached to his $750,000 brick abode: one for his son Brandon, one for his wife, Janice, and one for him. His garages' many amenities include carpeting, cable TV, speakers wired to the home stereo system and a bathroom. "I've always liked garages and I don't think you can have enough of them," " Mr. Bernard said."
posted by troutfishing at 8:54 PM PST - 25 comments

More Elvis ice cream flavors! After Edy's introduces All Shook Up Sundae and Love Me Tender Brownies.
posted by braun_richard at 8:40 PM PST - 9 comments

georgebush.ca seems quite topical given the recent legal wrangling that Michael Moore has been enduring at the hands of conservative Canadians, offering the chance to "join a growing group of Canadians that want to prevent the re-election of George W. Bush this November 2nd."
posted by denbot at 7:42 PM PST - 27 comments

A "bipartisan" look at political weblogging (pdf); they're soliciting comments.
posted by kliuless at 7:00 PM PST - 8 comments

Super Dollfies: are they the Cabbage Patch Kids / Furbies of the moment?
Near obsessive Do not call me DOLL Super Dollfie photo blog.
posted by page404 at 6:43 PM PST - 14 comments

An Intuitive Explanation of Bayesian Reasoning. [Page contains Java]
posted by Gyan at 4:25 PM PST - 8 comments

Where did dynamic range go? Compact discs seem to keep getting more and more compressed in an effort to make them seem louder. Didn't the compact disc promise greater dynamic range than vinyl? Then, some record label exec comes along and makes the recording so hot we lose the dynamic range. People have been complaining about this for some time. Papers have been written about it with proposed solutions. Where will it end?
posted by caddis at 2:35 PM PST - 36 comments

Doh, The Humanity! Broken web pages, but in a funny way. [via B.A.'s Weblog]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:25 PM PST - 7 comments

Dirty Dirty men..... America, Mark Twain once said, "is a nation without a distinct criminal class with the possible exception of Congress."
posted by sourbrew at 2:07 PM PST - 4 comments

Drunk Talk. Modern Drunkard's new crop of bar slang.
posted by Ufez Jones at 1:46 PM PST - 14 comments

Archeoastronomy & Old Astronomy Instruments in Iran.
posted by hama7 at 1:15 PM PST - 3 comments

The Movement is a 7-member art project, conceived (somewhat) as a multimedia version of the games Telephone or Exquisite Corpse, in which each member "adds a voice to the work -- a voice which expands the work, a voice which modifies the work, a voice which contests the work" through text, image, or sound. Initiated by writer/musician/radio host Julius Nil, the brother alter-ego of Olias Nil (himself the alter-ego of Seth Cohen) of the late, lamented Fire Show and Number One Cup. Includes work from Nil's Fire Show/Number One Cup collaborator, musician/photographer M. Resplendent .
posted by scody at 1:02 PM PST - 1 comment

Its obesity talk time, again. "Once the fried dough embodiment of hot and fresh, Krispy Kreme has transformed its original glazed doughnut into a new frozen beverage for summer." You heard that right. A donut drink. The United States is still food innovator #1!
posted by 4midori at 12:56 PM PST - 60 comments

How does same sex marriage differ from heterosexual marriage? It may really be until death do us part. or Awkward things happen when legislative debate trails judicial necessity.
posted by arse_hat at 12:36 PM PST - 9 comments

Nature or Nurture? Like father like daughter
posted by Postroad at 12:00 PM PST - 61 comments

Sony, BMG Merge into One Grotesque Abomination. Sony Music and BMG combine to form the second largest music label in the world. Current plans? Layoff a bunch of employees. Future possibilities? Dropping lesser known bands.
posted by amandaudoff at 10:28 AM PST - 31 comments

The Daily Show wins an award for news programming? this seems pretty funny to me. and sort of sad that a fake news show gives me better news than the real news shows. the daily show beat out several other real news programs to take the award. i find that stewart is a less biased host than many on the news today, regularly features people from conservative and liberal camps, and is a pretty damn good interviewer, spending more time asking about things people care about and less time grinding an axe. he's also very good at getting his (mostly liberal) audience to respond politely to conservative guests. so why can't i find that in a real news show?
posted by caution live frogs at 9:58 AM PST - 54 comments

If you're ever looking for free wireless in the Bay Area, and you've got an iPod with you, a project from Bay Area Wireless called wiPod has you covered. It's a listing of all known free points in the region, sorted by city and location, and can be viewed on any iPod (screenshot, direct download).
posted by mathowie at 9:54 AM PST - 5 comments

Italian cooking expert Marcella Hazan (featured on the cover of this month's Saveur) eats at The Olive Garden. "This is bad. This is really bad," Marcella says. She stares into the bowl. "This is Bolognese sauce?" She reaches for a menu in disbelief. Bolognese it is. "Poor Bologna," she sighs.
posted by adrober at 9:14 AM PST - 79 comments

The news this morning included a small blurb about today being the anniversary of the first human killed by a robot. No doubt this is important to note due to the release of I, Robot but it appears to be incorrect. The first incident I can find was on January 25, 1979. Since then OSHA has recorded at least 10 more deaths in US factories alone. Japan saw it's first in 1981 and as a result it's Ministry of Labor requested a 20% budget increase for its robot related activities. All these incidents can be classified as accidents but it does force me to wonder how dangerous they will be when AI advances further. Should we mandate the Three Laws of Robotics?
posted by jwells at 7:10 AM PST - 22 comments

Spiritual consumption. When advertising is God, this Nike video will be a beautiful prayer.
posted by plexi at 6:43 AM PST - 36 comments

RadioHead. 2+2+rocket cam = 5. This is strictly an experiment, not an official music video.
posted by srboisvert at 5:16 AM PST - 13 comments

Mega Rabbit.
posted by moonbird at 4:24 AM PST - 14 comments

"We plan to put Beauty to sleep by chemical means, and then we’ll flip a fair coin. If the coin lands Heads, we will awaken Beauty on Monday afternoon and interview her. If it lands Tails, we will awaken her Monday afternoon, interview her, put her back to sleep, and then awaken her again on Tuesday afternoon and interview her again. The (each?) interview is to consist of the one question : what is your credence now for the proposition that our coin landed Heads? When awakened (and during the interview) Beauty will not be able to tell which day it is, nor will she remember whether she has been awakened before. She knows about the above details of our experiment. What credence should she state in answer to our question?"

In light of the recent thread on the Monty Hall problem, here's a probability puzzle that's even more mind-bending: the Sleeping Beauty problem. Some people say the answer is 1/2. Some people say the answer is 1/3. Some people say there is no answer. Papers have been written which can't resolve this one.
posted by salmacis at 3:15 AM PST - 40 comments

'Enemy Contact. Kill 'em, Kill 'em'. The Price of Valor. Invisible Casualties. The Psychological Effects of Combat. The Psychological Consequences of Killing: Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress. Soldiers, Self-Defense, and Killing in War - (PDF). Psychological and Psychosocial Consequences of Combat and Deployment with Special Emphasis on the Gulf War. Military Leaders’ Obligation to Justify Killing in War. And, from last year, come The Killer Elite, From Hell to Baghdad - The Killer Elite Part II, and The Battle for Bagdhad - The Killer Elite Part III--Evan Wright's Rolling Stone articles recently published as Generation Kill. They are well worth re-reading in this context.
posted by y2karl at 2:11 AM PST - 51 comments

Asia Grace
posted by euphorb at 1:42 AM PST - 6 comments

I hate PETA, but they may have a point on this one. Workers at a Pilgrim's Pride slaughterhouse have been filmed demonstrating their criminal lack of respect for living things by torturing living chickens. via Salon
posted by dr_emory at 12:05 AM PST - 124 comments

Virtual Iceland Field Trips. 'Interactive geological map of Iceland showing 7 areas for which virtual field trips can be viewed. Choose, for example, according to the geology or age of the country to see the variation in landscape. '
posted by plep at 11:37 PM PST - 2 comments

Want to play twenty questions? Play twenty questions against a computer. It can be startling good, sometimes, though there are a few things that still aren't in the database. Still, a decent time waster, if only for a little while.
posted by synecdoche at 8:15 PM PST - 58 comments

Another day, another criminal probe into Halliburton dealings with shady regimes. This is for activities going back to the 1995-2000 period, when the current Vice-President was CEO of the petroleum exploration leviathan. It's also been well documented that Halliburton did business with Iraq during that same time period. This begs the question, how many "forbidden countries" were Halliburton doing business with during Mr. Cheney's stewardship? Note: it's somewhat related, though not quite the same, as this previous thread.
posted by clevershark at 7:06 PM PST - 15 comments

POLICE BEAT, Ann Arbor , 7/20/04
posted by JohnR at 5:26 PM PST - 37 comments

Canadian Tax Dollars at Work I am sure there are some hard drinking working Metafilterites out there that could be Canada's official wine co-ordinator. You would have to give wine away to senior politicians and hard stuff like that.
posted by Coop at 2:58 PM PST - 9 comments

Most of the rhymes kicked therein cannot be quoted in a family publication, but observers gave Mr. Cheney credit for his deceptively laid-back flow. Mr. Leahy was applauded for managing to rhyme the phrases "unethical for certain," "crude oil spurtin'," and "like Halliburton."
posted by xmutex at 1:10 PM PST - 15 comments

W.’s Double Binds - Rich Lowry.
posted by hama7 at 12:20 PM PST - 84 comments

Flight crew beat up passenger: Drunken passengers often give air crews trouble, but Russia's leading airline today reported an 'unprecedented' reversal: a passenger was assaulted by intoxicated flight attendants. (via failure)
posted by fizz-ed at 10:53 AM PST - 11 comments

Cowboy Photographer Erwin E. Smith didn't just photograph cowboy life - he lived it. This website presents more than 750 images from the surviving collections of Smith's work. These online reproductions were made from Smith's original negatives, irreplaceable objects that capture the old-time cowboy as he really was—a working man on horseback. (via research buzz)
posted by bob sarabia at 10:37 AM PST - 6 comments

A playable version of the Monty Hall problem. More information.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 9:12 AM PST - 63 comments

Six million dollars and a hostage is free. Now others are asking the Philippines for similar arrangements.
posted by four panels at 9:05 AM PST - 62 comments

Welcome to Duke University. Here's your iPod.
posted by gottabefunky at 8:39 AM PST - 25 comments

Clinton’s Former Aide Drops Windfall in the Lap of Bush Campaign "...Presidential challenger Kerry will have to think twice before attacking Bush on national security issues lest he lay himself open to reminders that a former Clinton aide and his own adviser was caught red-handed misappropriating classified materials that revealed how a Democratic president mishandled the threat of terror...."
posted by Postroad at 8:38 AM PST - 45 comments

"It would have been so much easier to just slap a Playboy logo up on the screen, we have the animators animate breasts jiggling, and we have the programmers program a breast-cam, and then we ship it. People would buy it anyway." So says Brenda Brathwaite, Lead Developer for Cyberlore's Playboy: The Mansion, a Sim/Tycoon game coming to stores this holiday season. You may remember Brenda from her 22 year history in the industry, having worked for Sir-Tech in the early days (the creators of the venerable Wizardry series of RPG games). This is part 3 and the conclusion of a three part interview with Brenda.
posted by thanotopsis at 8:15 AM PST - 2 comments

Getting there, landing, getting back. And here's a panorama. Happy 35th Moonshot Day. (For real this time.)
posted by brownpau at 8:13 AM PST - 11 comments

It's like cookin'...
posted by disgruntled at 8:11 AM PST - 6 comments

Just in time, you’ve found me just in time. Richard Linklater, like Wong Kar-wai, is a lyrical and elegiac filmmaker. In many of his films, as in many of Wong's (and as in Ming-liang Tsai's What Time Is It There?), the subject is time -- the romance and poetry of moments ticking by, the wonder and anguish of living through and then remembering an hour or a day. In 1995 Linklater made Before Sunrise, the story of the chance encounter of two strangers (an American young man and a French young woman) on a European train and their sleepless night in Vienna. Now ten years have passed, and they meet again in Paris: they -- and the audience -- only have 80 minutes to make up for the time they lost, Before Sunset. Linklater's new film, shot in uncut Steadycam takes (the longest clocks in at 11 minutes), in a sense is about how we create selves just by talking. But it’s also about how we become prisoners of time. Towards the end of the movie, Celine, sitting in the backseat of a car with Jesse, starts to caress his head while he isn't looking, then suddenly pulls back, and that simple curtailed gesture carries in it a sense of tragedy, the consequence of the weight of time... (more inside, with Nina Simone)
posted by matteo at 6:27 AM PST - 22 comments

We've already discovered, just so far, the remains of 400,000 people in mass graves.
Um, no. No, you haven't.
And USAID, in its report Iraq's Legacy of Terror: Mass Graves, might want to do some fact-checking too, along with our dear leader as well ("There's mass graves"), and his supporters.
posted by amberglow at 5:37 AM PST - 88 comments

Seed Magazine. Seed is a popular science magazine for our times aimed at smart, young, and curious men and women who are passionate about science and its fast-changing place in our culture.
posted by srboisvert at 4:53 AM PST - 9 comments

Lets go bowling! Warning, productivity may cease upon clicking. [Flash, via Little Fluffy Industries]
posted by davehat at 4:10 AM PST - 14 comments

"Close your eyes. See if you can distinguish the voice of the New Edison from that of the artist. Did you ever believe it was possible to recreate the human voice?" As featured on the July 16 episode of NPR's Next Big Thing, Thomas Edison's promotional tone tests have been recreated by composer Nicholas Brooke for the stage, which New York MeFites can see at the Lincoln Center Festival later this week. (More wonderful phonographic ephemera here, by the way.)
posted by scody at 10:10 PM PST - 1 comment

"The Federal Trade Commission and Congress must act to prevent Fox News from using the deceptive and misleading trademark 'Fair and Balanced.'" After yesterday's 2,700 viewing parties and a Doonsbury plug, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism is now the #1 selling DVD on Amazon. At the same time, MoveOn launches a campaign against the slogan, and AlterNet challenges Fox's trademark. (Previous discussion.)
posted by muckster at 8:53 PM PST - 62 comments

Top 25 Celebrities Turned Politicians
posted by Rastafari at 8:42 PM PST - 8 comments

Ordering pizza in a surveillance society. [Flash, via Crooked Timber.]
posted by homunculus at 5:29 PM PST - 19 comments

Wal-Mart Locator 2004 - For years Wal-Mart has allowed RV owners to camp for free in their parking lots (sometimes to the dismay of campground owners). But the Bay Area wants to pull the plug on the practice for fear of the stores becoming impromptu homeless encampments.
posted by falconred at 3:58 PM PST - 29 comments

New Details Surface A light hearted look at what goes on inside the halls of the United States Senate.
posted by chunking express at 3:24 PM PST - 4 comments

typoGenerator. typoGenerator is a random generator for 'typoPosters'. a typoPoster is a poster, created from images and letters/text that doesn´t have any sense, just to look good [via coolstop]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:54 PM PST - 15 comments

The Box Doodle Project - Cool cardboard art.
posted by dobbs at 2:17 PM PST - 3 comments

Predicting the Internet's catastrophic collapse: "...CD-ROMs through Federal Express will emerge as the information superhighway. Instead of an Internet brimming with Web pages under construction, too few of us will haunt ghost pages."
posted by reklaw at 2:01 PM PST - 17 comments

Living Myths.
posted by hama7 at 12:16 PM PST - 4 comments

Wouldn't it be great if you could get the weather from a poorly synthesized computer-generated voice? Well, now you can. Call 1-888-573-8255 and ask Jupiter what the weather is like, or will be like, for nearly any city you want. (via Cool Tools)
posted by euphorb at 12:07 PM PST - 12 comments

Brown = Terrorist - Part II With Bush running about the country telling us how much safer we are, it's fun to look at some of the so-called terrorists we're being protected from: "Five Mexican citizens who stole cans of baby formula from store shelves throughout Iowa and sold them to a man of Arab descent for later resale."
posted by y6y6y6 at 11:08 AM PST - 51 comments

A large catalog of interesting handmade Russian chess sets. Some that caught my eye: Soviet vs. American; "Soviet-Fascist Chess" (note the kings); and American vs. Russian politicians (note the American queen).
posted by Prospero at 11:08 AM PST - 5 comments

Fountains of Youth and Health : periodic, therapeutic fasting and caloric restriction. Ben Franklin wrote of this, and most religions advocate periodic fasting. In the "Fasting Worm Study", earthworms became nearly immortal. Recent research underscores the health benefits, which do not require overall caloric restriction (a "fast and gorge" cycle works too) for humans. Fasting shows promise for the treatment of most addictions, Cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, Gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, Uterine fibroid tumors, Back and neck problems, high blood pressure, arthritis and joint pain, depression, perhaps Huntington's Disease... Here's a clinic which specializes in medically supervised water only fasts and offers recent studies and writings on the subject (PDF, .doc, and .htm format). Fasting seems to be very good for your brain overall. Meanwhile, inside : the benefits of caloric restriction, which seems to dramatically slow many age-related diseases.
posted by troutfishing at 10:50 AM PST - 57 comments

Another touching, sad, chilling account of obesity in America. The story of Anamarie Regino, a 3-year-old who was abnormally large for her age. Anamarie was taken out of her parents' custody because, it was determined, her life was in jeopardy because of her size. This despite a 550 calorie/day diet and obvious signs that "too much food" wasn't an issue.
posted by hijinx at 10:37 AM PST - 76 comments

bestgameever [Flash]
posted by Pretty_Generic at 9:16 AM PST - 24 comments

The scientific productivity of nations (pdf). An article by the UK's chief scientific advisor, published this week in Nature, quantitating the scientific output of different countries, normalized to per capita GDP, area of study, number of researchers, higher education research spending, and more. A commentary, from a UK perspective.
posted by shoos at 8:52 AM PST - 6 comments

Let the games begin.
posted by togdon at 8:14 AM PST - 7 comments

Touching, sad, chilling account of obesity in America People outside the US have this view of us as disgustingly, morbidly obese...and it can be true. This article from the Washington Post Sunday Magazine (free registration may be required) put a touching, terrifying, human face on one of America's biggest problems.
posted by chinese_fashion at 6:37 AM PST - 208 comments

Every Sunday, it's Halloween in Harajuku. Hanging out by the train station at Tokyo's most fashionable district are young women dressed as nurses, but with white faces and a trickle of painted blood dripping from a lip. Men in their late teens or early twenties fidget under huge manes of spiky green hair and layers of black leather.
Some really amazing costumes can be seen here. And by amazing I mean interesting, and by interesting I mean freaky.
posted by Jase_B at 2:53 AM PST - 30 comments

Anatomy of a 419 Scam. A detailed blow-by-blow account of how an otherwise intelligent and ordinary human being is suckered into losing a grand of his own money.
posted by Blue Stone at 2:23 AM PST - 49 comments

Capital of the Minimal is a new feature at the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre. It contains poetry, photography, and art work by 24 Dunedin writers, as well as some previously unreleased recordings by Flying Nun legends The Clean, The Verlaines, and The Chills (as well as some considerably more obscure stuff). [M.I.]
posted by Sonny Jim at 1:27 AM PST - 6 comments

Ikkyu: A wild raunchy zen poet.
posted by srboisvert at 10:22 PM PST - 9 comments

manifestos and apartment tours i can't stop sifting through the 1995-1997 archives for the newsgroup alt.usenet.manifestoes (which its moderator was kind enough to save and from which the entire unibomber manifesto can be downloaded) some 'graffiti from alt.religion.kibology' also resides here as does a hypertext tour of his apartment. Back up to the main index for some other um, nicely-organized presentations.
posted by cadence at 9:59 PM PST - 2 comments

34 Million Friends was founded by Lois Abraham and Jane Roberts to gather private contributions for the United Nations Population Fund, and had gathered $1,957,613.31 in gifts and pledges as of July 4. For the third year in a row, the Bush administration is withholding $34 million in aid because of accusations that UNFPA supports China's policy of coercive abortions, despite evidence to the contrary. UNFPA estimates the money could have helped prevent as many as 2 million unwanted pregnancies, 800,000 abortions, 4,700 maternal deaths, and over 77,000 infant deaths.
posted by homunculus at 5:17 PM PST - 15 comments

Doom 3 site goes live.
posted by crunchland at 2:36 PM PST - 56 comments

That damn Costco mayonnaise I like the East Village, but is Staten Island really that bad?
posted by MattD at 2:10 PM PST - 57 comments

Dance, Voldo, Dance (embedded quicktime .mov) Two people controlling two Voldos (the #1 freak from Soul Caliber). Quite possibly the most amazing synchronized video game dancing you'll ever see.
posted by malphigian at 12:16 PM PST - 30 comments

Reportage describes itself as an "online magazine of photojournalism". They present short photo essays of things like La Fete de créppisage in Mali, the largest camel market in Afica, rappers in Senegal, and two newsrooms a world apart.
posted by euphorb at 11:51 AM PST - 1 comment

Aristophanes: the Michael Moore of his day.
posted by stbalbach at 11:18 AM PST - 27 comments

Some nice online jigsaw puzzles from a specialty puzzlemaker, from quite simple to rather wickedly tricky. Or try out these not-so-easy photo jigsaw puzzles without the "jig", or sink your teeth into something heftier, like this Tubular Bells jigsaw (at Mike Oldfield's site) by Smoke and Mirrors, or these Doonesbury jigsaws. Altogether too much work for a Sunday? Then just lean back, relax, and take a tour of Big Game Hunter's jigsaw puzzle gallery.
posted by taz at 10:00 AM PST - 9 comments

Blogumentary? Pshaw. BBS: The Documentary, directed by Jason Scott of textfiles.com, is where it's at.
posted by reklaw at 7:05 AM PST - 9 comments

Love on the Quiet. One breezy evening a few months ago, 19-year-old Joseph Briggs did something he had never before dared to do growing up gay in New York: he held hands with and kissed his boyfriend in his own neighborhood... While New York is legendary as a place where gays and lesbians can live openly and free from prejudice, Mr. Briggs's story reveals a great deal about what might be called the other gay New York. Life in this New York unfolds far from the chiseled Chelsea boys, funky Village bars and relatively gay-friendly neighborhoods like the Upper West Side and Park Slope, Brooklyn, that represent the public image of gay life in the city. In the farther reaches of the boroughs outside Manhattan, gay life is often harder and nearly always more complicated. In these neighborhoods, the national debate over gay marriage can be much less important than the search for a doctor who does not squirm when talking about homosexual sex.    And here is your NYC Gay And Lesbian Population Distribution--a handy, color-coded map in pdf format, which comes from The Gay And Lesbian Atlas to provide more snapshots of life as lived, block by block, butterfly wing by butterfly wing, hometown and homeboy, in a time of more cultural evolution than, say, revolution.
posted by y2karl at 6:33 AM PST - 22 comments

The Glastonbury diary of Badly Drawn Boy.
posted by Fat Buddha at 3:41 AM PST - 2 comments

Archive of Found Photos at 10eastern.
posted by hama7 at 5:34 PM PST - 28 comments

Patrick Hughes has more excellent advice for children, but people of all ages will probably find it useful. Heed what he says about Skinhead Katrina. He knows of what he speaks.
posted by keswick at 2:04 PM PST - 23 comments

Russia To Send Troops To Iraq? If this takes place, will it impact the forthcoming election in the United States? "Sources close to Russia's Security Council say that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to the request "in principle" and has directed the Russian General Staff to work up a plan by the end of the month. "
posted by Postroad at 12:02 PM PST - 32 comments

Fabchannel has nearly 200 streaming concerts online from Amsterdam's "temple of pop": Paradiso. Featured artists include Damien Rice, Franz Ferdinand, De La Soul and many more. 56k streams are freely available, broadband requires free registration.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 11:45 AM PST - 5 comments

The First Vienna Vegetable Orchestra includes music samples, pics of their veginstruments, and dip. (via)
Contains scattered German, not fully translated, but you'll get the point.
posted by moonbird at 11:30 AM PST - 3 comments

You stink, therefore I am. Philosophers and psychologists have been studying the science of disgust, and its proper place in the law. Leon Kass, the chairman of the president's council on bioethics, cites "the wisdom of repugnance" in arguing against cloning. More recently, Martha Nussbaum has written a new book, "Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law," which rejects disgust as a moral guide. She has also written on the role of disgust in the mutilations of women in Gujarat.
posted by homunculus at 9:55 AM PST - 8 comments

This Land is Your Land (with apologies to Woody Guthrie). Belated non-partisan Friday Flash Fun. (Saturday Sarcastic Silliness?)
posted by Turtles all the way down at 7:08 AM PST - 2 comments

PDN Photo Annual 2004 presents the year's most outstanding images from photographers, magazines, and agencies in 8 separate categories. The commercial work is great, but don't miss the personal and student categories. (Flash intro. Note to sponsors: larger online images next year, please!)
posted by madamjujujive at 5:53 AM PST - 8 comments

IMWatching. Monitor the online times of your buddies.
posted by srboisvert at 4:31 AM PST - 7 comments

Oh how much can this flag endure?
posted by tcp at 4:24 AM PST - 11 comments

Clouds formed at sea may be created by plankton to protect themselves from harsh UV rays by inducing more dimethyl sulfide to the atmosphere.
posted by rudyfink at 1:35 AM PST - 9 comments

How do you know that the hand you see in front of you belongs to you? Now you know.
posted by snarfodox at 1:02 AM PST - 17 comments

It would seem that black holes may not lose information after all, in which case Stephen Hawking has lost another bet.
posted by Songdog at 8:25 PM PST - 24 comments

Celebrity Acne — or one dude's obsession with zits on famous people.
posted by Space Coyote at 6:54 PM PST - 2 comments

Pokia: Retro phones of the future. I'll wait for the Bluetooth version.
posted by anathema at 3:59 PM PST - 6 comments

Write a Prisoner Offers a unique service. It connects you with your convicted-felon potential solemate. Fun for the whole family (NSFW)
posted by cjoh at 3:30 PM PST - 24 comments

33 40' 31'' N - 106 28' 29'' W, 7/16/45, 05:29.45
posted by crunchland at 2:55 PM PST - 21 comments

Red Top: Photography.
posted by hama7 at 2:48 PM PST - 1 comment

Press button, wipe hands on pants ... NOT! FINALLY someone has done something about those crappy hand driers that never really worked in the first place. I encountered my first XLERATOR in the men's room of my local pool hall the other night. For a moment I feared it would blow the flesh off my tender hands. But no flesh-tearing was to occur; it performed its intended function flawlessly in about 10 seconds. My profound and everlasting gratitude to its inventor. Best news ever? Do I need to get a life?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:25 PM PST - 38 comments

Today, it is 35 years since Apollo 11 landed on the moon. For detailed records of the events of that day, read the Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal. You can also take a look at the National Air and Space Museum's Apollo collection, or view photos from The Apollo Archive Image Gallery. Today, Neil Armstrong (who had meant to say "one small step for a man") leads a mostly private yet busy life, while Buzz Aldrin maintains a somewhat more public profile. Michael Collins, the much lesser-known astronaut who stayed in lunar orbit that day, went on to become Director of the National Air and Space Museum. As for those of you who still think the moon landing was faked, give it another think. Happy 35th Moon Shot Day! (Can you believe it?! The f-ing moon!!)
posted by brownpau at 1:08 PM PST - 25 comments

Picasa is now part of Google. Download Picasa version 1.6 for Free! The question: why? What does Google want with digital photo organiser software?
posted by reklaw at 12:37 PM PST - 33 comments

AP Seeks Release of Bush Military Records Records destroyed? Ah, the other set! ..."Records released so far do not put to rest questions over whether Bush fulfilled his National Guard service for a period during the Vietnam War, the AP argued in papers filed in federal court in New York. Those records came from federal records clearinghouses. Texas law requires separate record keeping for state National Guard service, and those records should exist on microfilm in Austin, the AP said. ..."
posted by Postroad at 11:39 AM PST - 22 comments

Failure is not an option, it's mandatory. "For more than three decades, the Republican Party has relied on the "culture war" to rescue their chances every four years, from Richard Nixon's campaign against the liberal news media to George H. W. Bush's campaign against the liberal flag-burners. In this culture war, the real divide is between "regular people" and an endlessly scheming "liberal elite." This strategy allows them to depict themselves as friends of the common people even as they gut workplace safety rules and lay plans to turn Social Security over to Wall Street. Most important, it has allowed Republicans to speak the language of populism."

An opinion about how the surety of losing wins votes for the Republican party.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 11:25 AM PST - 61 comments

Is it a gargoyle? No, it is the heartwarming, sly, naughty long-tailed Macaque monkey of Bali, creature of myth and of the Sacred Forest. It may think it's a gargoyle, or perhaps it's only dreaming of Notre Dame
posted by Shane at 11:03 AM PST - 6 comments

The lid is blowing off. Tom Tomorrow reports that the story of the 107 imprisoned, tortured, and raped children in Abu Ghraib is beginning to break all over the world, as the US media remains in patriotic silence. We're already about to lose our first ally over this, Norway.
posted by badstone at 10:58 AM PST - 82 comments

The 2004 Flash Forward Winners have been announced. More Friday Flash Fun than you can shake an actionscript at.
posted by ChasFile at 10:48 AM PST - 2 comments

naval-history.net :: yet another fine example of how the web can help one man or woman with a true passion for a subject go from a hobbist to a published expert. Be sure to read the dedication to his dad at the top of the page.
posted by anastasiav at 9:21 AM PST - 1 comment

Friday scary-flash spook-a-thon: The Minister of Fear [via Kos]
posted by moonbird at 8:52 AM PST - 1 comment

heartwarmingfilter: Alice's Adventures under Ground, Lewis Carroll's illustrated first edition. (via SomeRandomRomanian)
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:02 AM PST - 19 comments

Bobby Fischer found, trying to travel from Tokyo to the Phillipines. He has been detained and is awaiting deportation to the states for attending a 1992 chess match in Yugoslavia in violation of international sanctions.
posted by o2b at 6:56 AM PST - 46 comments

Parade Kid is Back! It's been a number of years since Parade Kid has had a web presence. But with renewed interest from media outlets who have taken kindly to his unique... um, talents, Parade Kid has turned into his own celebrity-steamrolling machine. With the obligatory Parade Kid music video and t-shirt shop, you have to assume that the Parade Kid sponsors are wearing their elf ears with pride.
posted by aaaaa at 6:51 AM PST - 2 comments

Allawi shot inmates in cold blood, say witnesses. Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station, just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the killings.
posted by waterfrog at 6:47 AM PST - 21 comments

The George W Bush Singers Some Friday musical fun.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 6:15 AM PST - 9 comments

Paul Wolfowitz is the greatest Trotskyite of our times. He believes in permanent revolution. ...and in the Middle East, to begin with, needless to say." thus spoke Seymour Hersh, at a seminal conference during which the National Rifle Association and the ACLU searched for common ground - "Kenneth Starr.....will join a panel session with National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre, Jr., Americans United for the Separation of Church and State Executive Director Barry Lynn and ACLU President Nadine Strossen....". Strange bedfellows, indeed (Metafilter 21918). Whassup? Trotskyite ghosts prowl the the White House amidst a power struggle of historic proportions.
posted by troutfishing at 12:42 AM PST - 23 comments

A gallery of inexplicable objects like a fridge magnet warning, a U-haul truck, a moist toilette, medicated cream, and many more. *Bonus Link* The same guy also has a review of the steaming pile of movie known as Gymkata.
posted by euphorb at 11:06 PM PST - 11 comments

Hundreds of kinds of mixed seeds, soil humus, and dry powdered red brown clay, form the solid components of seed balls.
posted by sudama at 8:48 PM PST - 6 comments

By the Fire – an artist's step-by-step sketches and commentary of the creation of an oil painting, beginning with the end. (featured here)
posted by bitpart at 8:38 PM PST - 8 comments

Its Heartwarming Friday ! Lets all hug each other and see some of the loveliest , caringest and just plain Heartwarmingest sites the web has to offer.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:19 PM PST - 76 comments

When mobile phones attackget attacked. Articles posted on The Guardian and Reuters today are reporting that mobile phones running on the Symbian OS in Moscow are being targeted by a non-malicious virus/worm named Cabir.
Only 49 phones have been infected so far by the worm which propagates via Bluetooth. The creators are 29A labs, a "group of virus writers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia who pride themselves in creating "proof of concept malicious viruses,"
Countdown to impending doom in..5..4..3..
posted by Lizc at 5:56 PM PST - 8 comments

Packing heat at the local Starbucks

Feeling a little unsafe going to the local mall? Bring your hand gun!

In fact bring some more ammo just in case you run out! It's legal here in Veeerginia.
posted by blahblah at 5:53 PM PST - 55 comments

Danzig gets knocked out. Now, I know that most of you probably aren't big on violence, however, I find a little jolt of comfort in seeing Danzig dropped with one punch. It's like being back in high school and seeing a bully knocked out by a geek he'd been picking on. (NSFW - violence and language)
posted by fizz-ed at 5:11 PM PST - 38 comments

Is this a firsthand account of a terrorist "dry run"? Terror in the Skies, Again? On June 29, 2004, at 12:28 p.m., I flew on Northwest Airlines flight #327 from Detroit to Los Angeles with my husband and our young son. Also on our flight were 14 Middle Eastern men between the ages of approximately 20 and 50 years old. What I experienced during that flight has caused me to question whether the United States of America can realistically uphold the civil liberties of every individual, even non-citizens, and protect its citizens from terrorist threats. Read the whole thing
posted by Rob1855 at 4:34 PM PST - 122 comments

The UN recently posted a list of the ten stories they wished the world knew more about. One of them is about trying to ensure proper care and equal treatment to persons with disabilities in other countries. Unrelated to the UN, but to the point, this photojournalist's images of preventable blindness in Asia connects the faces of those affected to the issue.
posted by mathowie at 3:07 PM PST - 7 comments

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Photos Pictures from Robert Pirsig's original 1968 trip, part of a gallery of photo albums inspired by the trip, including 360° panoramas. [via WikiPedia]
posted by kirkaracha at 3:00 PM PST - 13 comments

"How do we nurture the healing side of religion over the killing side? How do we protect the soul of democracy against bad theology in service of an imperial state? OVER THE PAST few years, as the poor got poorer, the health care crisis worsened, wealth and media became more and more concentrated, and our political system was bought out from under us, prophetic Christianity lost its voice. The Religious Right drowned everyone else out. And they hijacked Jesus. The very Jesus who stood in Nazareth and proclaimed, 'The Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.' The very Jesus who told 5,000 hungry people that all of you will be fed, not just some of you. The very Jesus who challenged the religious orthodoxy of the day by feeding the hungry on the Sabbath, who offered kindness to the prostitute and hospitality to the outcast, who raised the status of women and treated even the tax collector like a child of God. The very Jesus who drove the money changers from the temple. This Jesus has been hijacked and turned into a guardian of privilege instead of a champion of the dispossessed. Hijacked, he was made over into a militarist, hedonist, and lobbyist, sent prowling the halls of Congress in Guccis, seeking tax breaks and loopholes for the powerful, costly new weapon systems that don't work, and punitive public policies."
Bill Moyers on democracy excruciate.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 2:03 PM PST - 79 comments

Sure it looks just like just another promotional site for a movie, but then you realize that you can send phone messages from Hillary Duff. And sure, that seems lame at first but these are personalized messages that involve names and characteristics like "braces" or "big head." It really CAN be very amusing.
posted by adrober at 2:01 PM PST - 20 comments

Iraqi women beg to be killed as American soldiers sodomize their children (link is an .rm file, the bit about mothers and children starts about 1:31), according to journalist Seymour Hersh who reports seeing unreleased footage from Abu Ghraib. The question remains unanswered as to why he'll talk about it in a speech, but not publish it in the New Yorker. It's also worth asking, if these allegations are true, who else has seen this footage and why is it not being reported?
posted by dejah420 at 1:18 PM PST - 117 comments

Steve Jobs wants to tear down his home. But there's a problem. It's a George Washington Smith-designed 1926 Spanish Colonial Revival house (mansion?) in Woodside, California, and preservationists feel it has historical significance. Jobs replies that he'll build something that will eventually become "more historically interesting" than the present property. (Given his penchant for the steel and glass of I.M. Pei, that seems questionable.) But should he not have the right to do what he wants with his property? Tear it down, paint it purple, or fill it to the roof with Jell-O; whose business is it other than the homeowner? note: first link leads to NYT, registration required
posted by emptyage at 1:01 PM PST - 35 comments

Al-Jazeera, best known in the West for reporting on the Taliban and US-Iraq war, has, today, been approved to broadcast in Canada, amidst complaints from Jewish groups, such as the B'nai Brith, who are worried the content may be anti-semetic. What makes this interesting? Al-Jazeera will be one of the few news stations in Canada specifically warned by the Canadian government that it must censor itself for content.
posted by shepd at 12:49 PM PST - 37 comments

Low-carb jumps the shark? More than half of all Americans who've tried low-carb diets have given up, a new survey found. Is this the latest indication that the Atkins fad has peaked? Two years ago this month, Gary Taubes kicked it off with a NYT Magazine cover story arguing that emerging science proved Atkins right and the nurtition establishment wrong. A couple small, short-term studies released shortly thereafter seemed to show he was on to something. But there were problems with the "Big Fat Lie" piece: CNN found that three of the researchers Taubes cited completely disagreed with his main premise. Worse, it turned out Taubes had claimed low-fat diets don't work while ignoring the vast body of peer-reviewed evidence to the contrary, and more of his sources came forward to say things like "I was greatly offended by how Gary Taubes tricked us all into coming across as supporters of the Atkins diet. I think he’s a dangerous man. I’m sorry I ever talked to him." [More Inside]
posted by soyjoy at 11:17 AM PST - 46 comments

Human Development Report 2004 Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World
posted by mr.marx at 10:50 AM PST - 1 comment

blinkx is a new contextual search agent that seems to be causing some excitement. Unfortunately, it is not available for Macintosh or Mozilla at present.
posted by davehat at 9:02 AM PST - 13 comments

Words: Woe & Wonder The CBC explains and debates usage from a Canadian-journalism standpoint - for example, why the Iraqi ex-leader is referred to by his first name and whether to capitalize this place.
posted by casarkos at 8:43 AM PST - 8 comments

Superman lookalikes or, more accurately, Jimmy Corrigan lookalikes at the Metropolis, IL Superman Celebration.
posted by malphigian at 8:36 AM PST - 8 comments

Drag Race Ride through the streets of Manhattan with some of the fastest urban bicyclists in existence as they race in the wintertime. Thrilling and unbelievable. The mpg is from a head mounted camera worn by one of the racers. More here. Also don't miss the cameraman riding on top of a Jersey barrier here. And here I was thinking that Times Square to Park Slope in 25 minutes was pretty quick. Thanks to nervous.net.
posted by n9 at 8:35 AM PST - 33 comments

The Sakai Project, an open-source course-management software program for educational institutions is being publicly released today. Backed by the University of Michigan, Indiana University at Bloomington, MIT, and Stanford, Sakai hopes to free Universities from commercial products, which have reportedly become increasingly expensive. Here's a nice little write-up from the Chronicle of Higher Ed.
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:22 AM PST - 8 comments

Choose your own adventure! "The following imaginary scenario attempts to picture what would happen if the IMF did not exist. It tells the story of a businessperson in a fictional developing country that is suffering from a shortage of foreign exchange. In the scenario, there is no IMF to turn to in order to resolve the currency crisis. You will soon come to realize the difficulties of carrying on international trade in that imaginary world without the IMF."
posted by livii at 7:25 AM PST - 19 comments

The Shape of Song from Turbulence.
posted by hama7 at 5:40 AM PST - 7 comments

Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary
The history of a man who single-handedly invented a new and unique writing system which made the literacy rate of his nation shoot from 0% to 90% in just a few years.

Original source
posted by magullo at 5:07 AM PST - 4 comments

Space 1999 models. War of the Worlds, Flash Gordon, Alien and more. Welcome to the art of Martin Bower.
posted by srboisvert at 4:50 AM PST - 13 comments

The Arcade Flyer Archive. A to Z.
posted by nthdegx at 3:08 AM PST - 3 comments

Sustainable oil? Over the past few years there's been a growing theory that oil is not created from the decaying remains of ancient biological life but is in fact a product of the Earth's geological processes and that the current estimated oil reserves may be off by a factor of 100. This theory was made popular by Thomas Gold at Cornell way back in 1992 and has led to much more recent research (warning: heavy scientific conent) which supports the theory.
posted by PenDevil at 2:29 AM PST - 31 comments

Any of you old enough to be worried about the price of drugs? It goes on and on.
posted by donfactor at 2:16 AM PST - 4 comments

Parkspliced. Blur's Parklife remixed/bootlegged/mashed-up a la London Booted (and while you're in the mood: Hanzo Steel).
posted by Robot Johnny at 10:34 PM PST - 8 comments

Cheney not to run again. Rumours have been flying on the net for hours and now Drudge has it. Interesting development, if true...
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 9:36 PM PST - 81 comments

The AWOL Machine - a new way to party. Just incase you have trouble getting drunk.
posted by Jimbob at 8:26 PM PST - 12 comments

The fascinating story of rubber starts here.
posted by euphorb at 7:20 PM PST - 4 comments

The American Merkin Company. (NSFW) Handcrafting merkins for over 150 years!

Has your last wax or razor encounter left you a little too exposed for the nude beaches of SXM? Are you getting on in years and finding that thinning hair leaves you a bit embarrassed? Why not try a merkin! Great for both females AND males!
posted by Jase_B at 7:00 PM PST - 22 comments

The Expedition (real audio link). Dylan Moran's 15 minute monologue about an expedition to the Arctic with his brother-in-law is the first in a series of 4 by top UK comics.
posted by gravelshoes at 5:17 PM PST - 7 comments

Being Nothing: George W. Bush as Presidential Simulacrum. [Via wood s lot.]
posted by homunculus at 2:37 PM PST - 19 comments

A Farewell to the Corps Colonel Wayne Shaw, USMC, Quantico, Virginia In recent years I've heard many Marines on the occasion of retirements, farewells, promotions and changes of command refer to the "fun" they've had in the Marine Corps. "I loved every day of it and had a lot of fun" has been voiced far too often. Their definition of "fun" must be radically different from mine. Since first signing my name on the dotted line 28 ½ years ago I have had very little fun.
posted by konolia at 12:01 PM PST - 18 comments

Man buys tatty suitcase for $36...that's actually filled with Beatles memorabila. Believed to be the lost "Mal Evans archive," the suitcase bought at an Australian flea market contained precious photos, concert programs and unreleased recordings. Everything is yet to be authenticated, but if the items are bonafide, this could be THE Antiques Roadshow showpiece to end all showpieces.
posted by mosspink at 10:30 AM PST - 45 comments

As the world meets in Bangkok to discuss responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic (wow, even Richard Gere thinks it's important!), these very effective public service ads (1, 2, 3 all .mpg files) from the Stephen Lewis Foundation bring the epidemic down (or up) to an emotional level.
posted by stonerose at 9:44 AM PST - 2 comments

Singer Songwriter Devendra Banhart recently assembled an amazing mix of music exclusively for Arthur Magazine entitled “Golden Apples of the Sun,” (Pitchfork review) which has the high task of defining the West-cost based "freakfolk" scene. Featuring brilliant new artists (such as the breathtaking Joanna Newsom, Iron and Wine, and Vetiver, among others), it was limited to 1000 copies (all of which are sold out). There should be a second edition, but in the meantime you can listen to the whole album on this player.
posted by Quartermass at 9:41 AM PST - 25 comments

The Educator's Bed and Breakfast Network Lodging for US $34 per couple per night, and breakfast too! Required - a house of your own (or maybe a large apartment, I suppose) to host fellow members. Membership costs $35 per year with a one-time $10 initial registration fee. "Educators" is a broad category which includes teachers of all sorts, writers, journalists, researchers, librarians, probably DJ's....many bloggers...
posted by troutfishing at 8:50 AM PST - 5 comments

25 years ago a Chicago radio disc jockey had an idea for a promotional event. Steve Dahl invited his listeners to bring a disco record to a double-header White Sox game. Between games he was going to blow them up. What happened was a full scale riot that caused the White Sox to forfeit and disco to die.
posted by Bonzai at 8:21 AM PST - 112 comments

They Might Be Giants' latest music video, directed by Strong Sad and The Cheat.
posted by LinusMines at 8:11 AM PST - 30 comments

Lou Dobbs, Call Your Office If Lou Dobbs, the fair-trade crusader, only knew about this one! A few months ago, activists and journalists were blasting the U.S. for plans to buy only branded drugs, made by companies like Merck, to treat patients in poor countries under the president's $15 billion AIDS relief program[...] The result is that the way has been paved for U.S. taxpayers to spend billions to buy drugs made in India that are copies of medicines invented in the United States
posted by Postroad at 8:10 AM PST - 31 comments

Expect a miracle? Freeman Dyson on Littlewood's Law of Miracles: "...the total number of events that happen to us is about thirty thousand per day, or about a million per month. ...The chance of a miracle is about one per million events. Therefore we should expect about one miracle to happen, on the average, every month." From his review of book debunking the paranormal (whose views he isn't entirely willing to accept). Via Marginal Revolution
posted by Jos Bleau at 7:55 AM PST - 32 comments

Despotism. Because, as communities go, so goes the nation.
posted by jester69 at 7:02 AM PST - 5 comments

How to hack a vacuum cleaner.
posted by tcp at 4:35 AM PST - 8 comments

Laws Concerning Food and Drink; Lamentations of the Father. Something to give all parents a chuckle.
posted by iffley at 3:57 AM PST - 27 comments

Like magic, the vibrating broomstick of progress sweeps the Czech Republic. (Czech government likes celebrities).
posted by Pretty_Generic at 2:43 AM PST - 1 comment

Catscan.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why.
posted by karmaville at 12:00 AM PST - 80 comments

This is not pornography. Spaces filled with removed figures.
posted by the fire you left me at 11:48 PM PST - 19 comments

The House With Too Many Perpundiculars
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:50 PM PST - 8 comments

Vice Magazine - The Photo Issue. Engrossing, compelling, repulsive photography from Vice Magazine's Photo Issue. Many NSFW.
posted by bdave at 7:50 PM PST - 6 comments

All systems gone, prepare for down-count. We doesn't have much time. (.mpg)
posted by Lizc at 7:34 PM PST - 18 comments

?????? ????? - Name:Zena Amaar / Location:baghdad, Iraq
I am 13 years old. I am in the 2nd class in AL-MUTAMAYSAT secondary school whech means the secondary school for excellent student. I spend most of my time working on computer and reading stories, i have a library of about 75 books some of them are stories and the others are poetical books. Also i help my mother in housework. My father is a lucturer in the colleg of engineering. At the same time he is postgradute student. He is working hardly to get the PhD in computer engineering. My mother is assestant prof. in the colleg of engineering. I have only one brother. He is in the primary school in the 4th class. I love my family so much. (via sylloge :)
posted by kliuless at 6:59 PM PST - 14 comments

The Road to Tyranny (Realvideo). A sensational and informative film by Alex Jones. Ignore the presentation, or, consider it entertainment if you wish, but there's some pretty good content in there including some surprising news footage from the aftermath of the OKC bombing 19 minutes in.
posted by euphorb at 6:43 PM PST - 18 comments

Striping Guitars with Eddie Van Halen (in what appears to be his living room). More of his painted and unpainted guitars. Extra guitar geekiness: watch the evolution of Frankenstein.
posted by turbodog at 11:39 AM PST - 59 comments

S&M Barbie ... and S&M Barbie
posted by nathan_teske at 11:23 AM PST - 9 comments

"When two Iraqis sit together to talk then politics will be there."

Quite a powerful weblog post by Baghdad citizen 'Mohammed' who tries to focus on the positive side of things against ever increasing frustration. Just one of a number of Iraqi weblogs that are beginning to pop up now that both the Internet and freedom of speech is available to the commoners.
posted by Jase_B at 10:53 AM PST - 18 comments

Roadless Act under attack. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced today the plan to lift a Clinton-era ban on building roads into wilderness areas on National Forest Service lands. Instead of keeping the ban at a federal level, the decision on wether or not to allow roads to be built would now be deffered to state governers.

I can't help but wonder, how is this in the public's interests at all? It is unreasonable to paint this as, "the biggest single giveaway to the timber industry in the history of the national forests", or does this really have value that the average American could benefit from?
posted by Hackworth at 10:09 AM PST - 63 comments

"Is [President] Bush a Homo?" Those are Betty's words... not mine. [via tinmanic]
posted by silusGROK at 9:12 AM PST - 29 comments

Blavatsky Net - Theosophy.
posted by hama7 at 8:51 AM PST - 13 comments

ONE AFTERNOON IN THE LATE 1970's, deep in the labyrinthine interior of a massive Gothic tower in New Haven, an unsuspecting employee of Yale University opened a long-locked room in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium and stumbled upon something shocking and disturbing.

Shocking, because what he found was an enormous cache of nude photographs, thousands and thousands of photographs of young men in front, side and rear poses. Disturbing, because on closer inspection the photos looked like the record of a bizarre body-piercing ritual: sticking out from the spine of each and every body was a row of sharp metal pins. The case of the Ivy League posture photos.
posted by alphanerd at 8:44 AM PST - 34 comments

Pac-Mondrian! Art hits the arcade. Play the classic game while enjoying the Piet Mondrian-style background. Who says art isn't fun?
posted by ifjuly at 7:35 AM PST - 6 comments

German police revive rabbit "....by breathing through a ball point pen after he passed out in a house fire.....officers opened Napoleon's mouth with a pen and breathed down it while giving the pet a cardio massage, a police spokesman said on Saturday....The officers then rushed [ the rabbit ] by police car to a vet."
posted by troutfishing at 6:59 AM PST - 17 comments

Read-a-long-a-Fahrenheit-9/11. Michael Moore posts six pages of quotes and links to back up his movie. And since he doesn't mind you downloading it, why not watch it on your computer and fact-check his ass as you go?
posted by reklaw at 6:05 AM PST - 56 comments

Incredible comic book auction. I knew I shouldn't have gotten rid of my comics..
posted by srboisvert at 4:40 AM PST - 20 comments

Gates talks about our future. Bill gates shows a side that is rarely seen by computer users. Love him or hate him, I just want to know why he doesn't want me to have one of these some time in the next 15 years too.
posted by sourbrew at 2:01 AM PST - 25 comments

Hungry? How about a 37'2" hotdog? Vienna Beef was proud to feature this record breaker at Taste of Chicago earlier this month. More info over at MeatNews. Can't get enough hot dog action? Surely you saw Kobayashi chow down on ESPN 2. Still hungry? This ought to fill you up. (Note: Some of these links have gross pictures)
posted by shotsy at 11:22 PM PST - 7 comments

The kidnap videos in Iraq are suspicious. Some say they are fake. Some make their own... what do you think of this one? A rare bit of humor from Al-Jazeera. [.wmv]
posted by pemulis at 10:40 PM PST - 11 comments

Allmusic for Windows Clicking on some deep links into allmusic.com tonight turned up this- Notice: You are accessing allmusic.com with a browser that is not currently supported. The appearance and functionality of the site could be impacted. allmusic.com is optimized for Internet Explorer 5.5 and above for Windows.
posted by bendybendy at 9:39 PM PST - 45 comments

Midaregami: The Japan Hierarchy. The stratified hierarchy of Japanese society is mirrored onto those foreigners who choose to live in Japan. Inspired by The Geek Hierarchy.
posted by gen at 9:01 PM PST - 3 comments

"By jabbing a threatening phallus at your enemy like a wild animal, you aren't just belittling him, but also making him your sexual inferior." Apparently, George W. Bush let some boys in East Lampeter, PA know that they were sexually inferior. But Kerry too has jabbed a threatening phallus recently. [Bush link via Kottke; first link previously discussed on MeFi]
posted by limitedpie at 8:15 PM PST - 21 comments

Hell On Earth. U.S. News... now has obtained all 106 classified annexes to the report... Taguba focused mostly on the MP s assigned to guard the inmates at Abu Ghraib, but the classified files in the annex to his report show that military intelligence officers--dispatched to Abu Ghraib by the top commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez--were intimately involved in some of the interrogation techniques widely viewed as abusive. The abuses took place, the files show, in a chaotic and dangerous environment made even more so by the constant pressure from Washington to squeeze intelligence from detainees. Riots, prisoner escapes, shootings, corrupt Iraqi guards, unsanitary conditions, rampant sexual misbehavior, bug-infested food, prisoner beatings and humiliations, and almost-daily mortar shellings from Iraqi insurgents--according to the annex to General Taguba's report, that pretty much sums up life at Abu Ghraib. Some PDFs are in Shining a light in a real dark place.
See also Making Torture Legal.
posted by y2karl at 6:51 PM PST - 24 comments

Selfellatio (NSFW) [via Jane's Guide]
posted by eilatan at 5:51 PM PST - 77 comments

Yet another political flash cartoon! Anyone else getting tired of hearing the same bland crap about the upcoming election? This flash cartoon somehow manages to be funny anyway, even though its subject has been done to death. It's brilliant, and definitely worth a look.
posted by Veritron at 2:54 PM PST - 27 comments

What does blue smell like? A novel theory contends that humans smell the frequency of a molecule, rather than shape (full study, pdf). In fact, there is no evidence to support either theory, leading to the question, how do humans smell? Inspired by bonehead.
posted by grateful at 2:17 PM PST - 31 comments

Today is the 50th anniversary of the geodesic dome, designed by Buckminster Fuller. The US Postal Service launched a new stamp today, to commemorate the date and honor the creator.
posted by mathowie at 1:04 PM PST - 18 comments

Indian slum-dwellers given voice Their pride is unmistakably justified - a team drawn from the ghettos is successfully running India's first news magazine about slum-dwellers.
posted by Postroad at 11:40 AM PST - 4 comments

Mark Mothersbaugh's Beautiful Mutants, a slideshow of Rorschach-like manipulated images of faces from long ago set to his music, is currently on tour. I'm checking it out to see how his art compares with his music work in DEVO and movie soundtracks -- hopefully it comes close.
posted by mathowie at 11:11 AM PST - 14 comments

Whip It...Not So Good? Apparently the whip, beloved in movies, games, and other various pursuits, isn't actually that fantastic of a weapon -- at least from a defensive point of view. And that supersonic crack? It ain't the tip. Interesting!
posted by effugas at 10:20 AM PST - 29 comments

"DeLay is doing everything moral, legal and ethical to increase the Republican majority and advance conservative ideas," says his spokesman, Stuart Roy. Heck, we already know that Tom DeLay loves the children enough to start a charitable fund to help pay for "late-night convention parties, a luxury suite during President Bush's speech at Madison Square Garden and yacht cruises" during the 2004 GOP convention (as well as the children, of course). Now, he's connected (via an email) to Enron, asking them for extra money in order to help fund the already-notorious redistricting in Texas. When will enough be enough?
posted by almostcool at 8:33 AM PST - 50 comments

Are comic bookser...I mean Graphic Novels the new novel?
posted by Grod at 8:29 AM PST - 32 comments

l33t on wheels Guy takes 'mobile computing' to a new level. via Blue's News. Also, a wave to the TLD owner, he's a friend.
posted by WolfDaddy at 7:35 AM PST - 10 comments

Press Box Red For 50 years, Lester Rodney was a forgotten footnote in perhaps the most controversial American sports story of the 20th century: Jackie Robinson and the breaking of baseball's color barrier. Now, the 93-year-old Rodney is getting his due. In the decade before Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rodney was the sports editor of the Daily Worker, a newspaper (the FBI files are here on .pdf) better known as the house organ of the American Communist Party. With strident editorials and feature stories about what he dubbed "The Crime of the Big Leagues," Rodney was an early, often lonely voice in the struggle to end segregation in baseball. But Rodney's contribution was never acknowledged, because of that "sickening Red tinge". Many baseball historians were staunchly anti-communist, and didn't want to acknowledge the contributions of the Communist Party. So Rodney's role (.pdf file) was left out of the official story. With the publication of his biography, Rodney's place in baseball's epochal story has introduced him to a new generation of admirers. "I wanted that ban to end because it was so unfair; I saw the tragedy of these great black ballplayers, like the catcher Josh Gibson, who didn't get a chance to play. It's unimaginable today, but look at Barry Bonds: Imagine if he had been born earlier and been unable to play." (login details for LATimes story in the main link: sparklebottom/sparklebottom)
posted by matteo at 5:11 AM PST - 35 comments

The Forbidden Library.
posted by Gyan at 3:39 AM PST - 26 comments

Making the Modern World brings you powerful stories about science and invention from the eighteenth century to today. It explains the development and the global spread of modern industrial society and its effects on all our lives. The site expands upon the permanent landmark gallery at the Science Museum, using the Web and dynamic multimedia techniques to go far beyond what a static exhibition can do. Terrific wrapping, excellent content.
posted by tcp at 2:24 AM PST - 4 comments

As the verdict of Butler Report into the intelligence used to justify the war in Iraq, draws near in Britain, a senior intelligence source reveals that MI6 took the "rare step" of withdrawing the intelligence assessment that underpinned the claim that Saddam had continued to produce WMD (an admission that such information was fundamentally unreliable), however Blair did not tell the public "that the evidence of WMD was crumbling beneath him". [Watch the Panorama programme in question here for 7 days from 11-7-2004] The Dossier that Lord Hutton declared was not sexed-up (leading to senior BBC resignations), Dr Brian Jones (former head of the nuclear, chemical and biological branch of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Intelligence Staff) says was sexed-up, and details exactly how.
posted by Blue Stone at 1:57 AM PST - 26 comments

Long ago in the town of Palermo in Sicily some monks got together and decided that they wanted to start praying to one of their own after he had passed to the Great Beyond so they embalmed him. Four hundred years and 8,000 corpses later you can see the Capuchin Catacombs for yourself.
posted by euphorb at 10:57 PM PST - 18 comments

Working Girls Jay, your average john, discusses his experiences with Working Girls -- as in, they work the "oldest profession". Nicole, a Working Girl, shares her experiences. Together, they try to educate people about what it means to be a "Callgirl" and the motivations behind those who are johns and prostitutes.
posted by SpecialK at 5:15 PM PST - 92 comments

Outfoxed, a documentary detailing Fox News's Republican bias, is being shown at house parties organized by MoveOn next Sunday amidst concerns about its extensive use of Fox News footage. Check out the article in today's NYT Mag section or sign up to host a screening at your house. I haven't seen this yet, but the stuff I've read on it makes me think immediately of this film.
posted by alphanerd at 3:25 PM PST - 44 comments

In 63 B.C., Cicero gave his first speech against Catiline. You can hear the opening paragraph read in Latin, or read a translation into English. Though Cicero was a consul denouncing a rebel, the famous opening sentence is now frequently used by those challenging authority (even if it's just the tyranny of Richard Stallman).
posted by kenko at 12:51 PM PST - 15 comments

The G.W. Talking Sockpuppet
The Idiot's Guide to Presidentiable Speechwriting For Dummy
::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink ::
posted by y2karl at 12:49 PM PST - 8 comments

Transparent grab for power or genuine threat?
posted by Fuka at 10:55 AM PST - 123 comments

Virtual Tours of England.
posted by hama7 at 8:31 AM PST - 6 comments

Who says shopping's a sin for a socialist? On and on it goes, this notion that a political stance wraps everything you are expected to say in a neat brown paper parcel. A nice little meditation on political ideology for your Sunday morning from the Globe and Mail's Heather Mallick.
posted by Quartermass at 7:52 AM PST - 20 comments

The History of Probability - Excel Version Huge detailed timeline. [via Roll the Bones]
posted by srboisvert at 5:00 AM PST - 2 comments

'The Dots Never Existed' Taken together, the facts in the report show that virtually every major claim President George W. Bush used to justify the invasion of Iraq—from Saddam's growing nuclear program to his close ties with Al Qaeda—was either wrong or exaggerated.
posted by Rastafari at 12:03 AM PST - 62 comments

A man, just back from a trip abroad, went to an incompetent fortune-teller. He asked about his family, and the fortune-teller replied: "Everyone is fine, especially your father." When the man objected that his father had been dead for ten years, the reply came: "You have no clue who your real father is."--that's one of the jokes from The Laughter Lover (Philogelos), an ancient Greek joke book published in the 4th or 5th century AD. The New Yorker commented on it, and other old jokes here, stating about one of the possible authors: ... there is some scholarly speculation that the Hierocles in question was a fifth-century Alexandrian philosopher of that name who was once publicly flogged in Constantinople for paganism, which, as one classicist has observed, “might have given him a taste for mordant wit.”
posted by amberglow at 9:45 PM PST - 12 comments

120 Years of Electronic Music. Electronic musical instruments 1870 -1990.
posted by the fire you left me at 6:20 PM PST - 12 comments

MP3 Blog Roundup • A far-flung variety of free mp3 singles posted almost daily. Without Sense's roundup I would have never stumbled across the excellent Enchanted Sounds of the Islanders. Equally worth bookmarking: Fat Planet, NewFlux, Pop77, ScissorKick, TangMonkey, TtIKtDA, Tofu Hut, Cocaine Blunts & Hip-Hop Tapes, Music for Robots, Soul Sides, MoistWorks, A Million LoveSongs, Copy Right?, The Big Ticket, TalkieWalkie, Bubblegum Machine, Fingertips, #1 Songs in Heaven, Mythical Beast, Fruits of Chaos, Moebius Rex...
posted by dhoyt at 6:11 PM PST - 43 comments

Chinese Elvis.
posted by reklaw at 5:16 PM PST - 17 comments

The Ice Hotel, a working 5,000 square metre hotel made entirely of 30,000 tons of snow and 4,000 tons of ice.
posted by bluedaniel at 2:37 PM PST - 12 comments

Fun with your tracheostomy.
posted by Wet Spot at 1:28 PM PST - 9 comments

“I bid you peace…” Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet, dead at 65. One of television’s most popular cooking shows throughout the 80s and 90s, The Frugal Gourmet defined the genre. An ordained United Methodist chaplain, Smith lost his PBS show in 1997 after eight men accused him of sexual assault during the 1970s. Denying the allegations, Smith nonetheless settled the cases out of court. Did the Frugal Gourmet do the ultimate shark jump? Maybe someone should ask Elmo.
posted by wfrgms at 1:20 PM PST - 28 comments

Fork-you! :: spend a rainy Saturday afternoon learning how to bend forks with your mind. Sort of.
posted by anastasiav at 12:53 PM PST - 4 comments

Blast Off to Democracy! [dialup or broadband, Quicktime req'd]
The second installment of the Partisan Jab project- first episode discussed here.
posted by moonbird at 7:18 AM PST - 6 comments

Friday Saturday Flash Fun - MorrisseyDance (warning - cheesy audio)
posted by triv at 3:58 AM PST - 19 comments

Europeans on Europeans. Reader's Digest dispatched researchers to 38 towns in 19 countries across Europe, from the UK to Russia, inviting nearly 4,000 respondents to comment on any country but their own. Italians finished as "most liked," Germans as "least liked," Belgians as the "least sexy," and Paris triumphed as "favorite European city." The full results can be seen here. (PDF)
posted by Ljubljana at 1:47 AM PST - 39 comments

Brain implants 'read' monkey minds. (No, not that monkey mind.) A group of CalTech neuroscientists have been able to predict the actions of monkeys by observing neural activity in the parietal and premotor cortices related to planning and motivation (PDF.) Other research previously allowed monkeys to control a robotic arm with their minds; this observed the higher-level goal and value signals, and could lead to more natural thought-activated prosthetic devices for people with paralysis. [Via MonkeyFilter.]
posted by homunculus at 12:23 AM PST - 29 comments

Mouse Skill Tester. Friday Fun or Friday Frustration depending on your temperament.
posted by srboisvert at 7:37 PM PST - 9 comments

Regeneration: Contemporary Chinese Art From China and the US.
posted by hama7 at 5:23 PM PST - 3 comments

Bad Mags. The Flip Side of Popular Culture As Seen Through Magazines and Tabloids! [via The Cartoonist] [NSFW]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 4:51 PM PST - 10 comments

Kerry-Edwards: so much love
posted by miscdebris at 4:05 PM PST - 31 comments

Catch bubbles. (Flash, via littlefluffy.) Pop.
posted by brownpau at 1:51 PM PST - 10 comments

With Jack Ryan dropping out of the Illinois Senate race due to the sex club allegations, who should replace him on the ballot? For one group of Illinois Republicans, there's only one man for the job, a man who already has plenty of name recognition and knows a little something about winning...Mike Ditka.
posted by SisterHavana at 1:44 PM PST - 24 comments

Obsessions come in many sizes and flavors - small, tall or veinte. Meet the man who is living the Traveling Salesman Problem by attempting to visit every starbucks.
posted by elwoodwiles at 1:41 PM PST - 24 comments

Put Up the Hoop Sooner: lessons of parenting, gleaned through the rear-view mirror
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:18 PM PST - 19 comments

War of the Worlds cover art from the last hundred years or so. (Plus, related artwork and the Martian-Canadian conspiracy, finally uncovered!) [via kottke]
posted by arto at 12:29 PM PST - 5 comments

Brown Equals Terroist - the story of a photography student who refuses to provide his ID to a security officer, and is swiftly confronted by Homeland Security. His ongoing struggle with the event is chronicled in the related blog.
posted by falconred at 11:18 AM PST - 110 comments

Home is where the heart is. Karl Taro Greenfeld, journalist and author of Speed Tribes, among others, has a nostalgic piece in Time Asia (Aug. '03) recounting his heady youth in Tokyo alongside his thoughts on his ailing Japanese grandmother.
posted by gen at 10:18 AM PST - 5 comments

Where are the women in web design?
posted by erisfree at 9:04 AM PST - 68 comments

"Disposable" Instant Messaging. Click a link and chat to someone with just your browser*. "Include [a link] when you create eBay auctions, Craigslist personals, weblogs, moblogs, personal websites, Friendster, etc. and viewers will be able to contact you instantly." *Requires Flash.
posted by Blue Stone at 9:01 AM PST - 20 comments

free games ~ Rockstar Games gives you two of their classic games, Grand Theft Auto (the original) and Wild Metal, modified to run on modern machines. [note : download at your own risk, windows only executables]
posted by crunchland at 7:50 AM PST - 25 comments

I Gave My Cat an Enema .
posted by Space Coyote at 7:29 AM PST - 23 comments

Friday Fun! It's good to see a local advertiser with the guts to go for a "funny" ad campaign. I imagine these get a good response. If I lived in Oregon, this place would get my business (well, if they sold Hondas). Viva la Trunk Monkey!
posted by Ynoxas at 7:05 AM PST - 13 comments

Rush Limbaugh site manipulates Kerry/Edwards photo to show Edward's outstretched waving hand completely obscuring Kerry's face, then crows, "This Says It All." Can't he just leave them alone? After all, they are clearly in love. (First link via Linkfilter)
posted by Otis at 6:39 AM PST - 40 comments

Alien in 30 seconds As re-enacted by bunnies. (via Milk and Cookies)
posted by psychotic_venom at 6:21 AM PST - 7 comments

A tribute to a lost friend.
posted by reklaw at 3:59 AM PST - 24 comments

Play it loud! The Polyphonic Spree. This is just great for a bit of Friday distraction. It sounds as if it's right out of the Sixties.
Enjoy!
posted by essexjan at 2:58 AM PST - 37 comments

While attempting to climb out of the pit, the initial victim was overcome and fell to the bottom. The grandson then entered the pit to attempt a rescue. He too was overcome and collapsed. What produces Methance, Hydrogen Sulfide, Carbon Dioxide, and Ammonia at the same time, naturally? Your friendly center for disease control will be happy to explain.
posted by Keyser Soze at 12:00 AM PST - 29 comments

Enviropornoshockrockers!!! Ellingsen claims the couple performed the surprise sex stunt during a set by the controversial band The Cumshots "actually to draw attention to the rain forests, which are in the process of disappearing." (NSFW, maybe, and via The Spoonbender)
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 7:53 PM PST - 35 comments

Save The Children calls on release of Iraqi children from jails. This apparently in response to recent media reports on the abuse of children in Iraqi prisons. And it's not just Save the Children who is concerned, but UNICEF, Amnesty International, and the Red Cross. Infact, Congress has called for a special briefing tomorrow from the Pentagon on "confidential reports" from the Red Cross on prison conditions in Iraq. The Pentagon is closing the briefing to the public, however, and apparently thinks that even Congress shouldn't know the details of how we treat prisoners.
"It's something of a stretch of policy and procedures to give them to the Congress," Rumsfeld spokesman Larry Di Rita said.
posted by insomnia_lj at 7:46 PM PST - 18 comments

I-C-U-P. I wonder if you can use it at night?
posted by alball at 6:58 PM PST - 20 comments

Korean Psych And Acid Folk • An introduction to the late-60s/early-70s experimental music of Korea. Bonus: be among the few Westerners to hear these ultra-rare tracks by the Pearl Sisters with songwriting contributions from a man known as the "godfather of Korean rock and roll", Shin Joong-Hyun, who is credited with influencing Korea's heavier rock scene of the last two decades.
posted by dhoyt at 6:44 PM PST - 6 comments

Scientific Integrity in Policy Making. The Union of Concerned Scientists have an update to their February report (discussed here) accusing the Bush administration of engaging in Lysenkoism, which Bush's top science adviser denied. [Via The Intersection.]
posted by homunculus at 6:30 PM PST - 16 comments

Midi is to music as ASCII is to art: Music videos converted to text and MIDI. [via waxy]
posted by page404 at 5:17 PM PST - 8 comments

Anacrusis is a collection of short stories. Very short stories, written under a strict length constraint. It's a perfect way to get your daily dose of weird, funny, thought-provoking fiction.
posted by wanderingmind at 3:40 PM PST - 5 comments

Museum of Park Slide.
posted by hama7 at 1:54 PM PST - 14 comments

High school students in Israel are harnessing the community-building power of weblogs to locate survivors of the Holocaust.
posted by arco at 1:42 PM PST - 21 comments

FCC wants radio, TV to keep tapes of shows. Presumably this is to make it easier for the FCC's Enforcement Bureau to levy some of those hefty new fines. Now I know the issue of the FCC fines and the FCC in general has already been discussed here, here, here, and possibly here. But it seems like there's a fifth amendment issue here that's new to this debate. Will forcing broadcasters to keep tapes in effect compel them to give evidence against themselves?
posted by Grimgrin at 12:42 PM PST - 19 comments

July, 2004 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic: "The HIV epidemic is worse than ever." "As the AIDS pandemic enters its 24th year, the number of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection continues to increase steadily. Two thirds of infected persons are in Africa, where the epidemic exploded during the 1990s, and one fifth are in Asia, where the epidemic has been growing rapidly in recent years." A new report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS shows that ""in short, the epidemic is outstripping efforts to contain it." "We're talking about more than 8,000 deaths every single day and in the war against AIDS we know the tools that work, we know the sorts of intervention that work, and if an administration is choosing other than these, and is doing less than it ought, then they're absolutely responsible." As prevention fails and more people die, some are "still insisting that only brand-name AIDS drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, most of them manufactured by big U.S. pharmaceutical companies, can be bought by beneficiaries of U.S. aid, despite the fact they are as much as five times more expensive as their generic equivalents manufactured in poor countries."
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 12:20 PM PST - 11 comments

You can probably guess who people like Janeane Garofalo and Ben Stein have given campaign contributions to. But how about Jennifer Garner? Reese Witherspoon? Siegfried and Roy? Karl Malone? The Newsmeat Hall Of Fame has the answers.
posted by SisterHavana at 12:17 PM PST - 38 comments

Cost of sex with a girlfriend and wife calculator. The people at NoMarriage.com are have devised some formulas for determining how much you need to shell out to get a little nookie from your significant other.
posted by chunking express at 11:39 AM PST - 103 comments

"Untitled Inspirational Memoir" by American [White] Idol '03 Clay Aiken hits #9 on the Amazon bestseller chart. It will be published (presumably with a title) in November. Order yours today. Or, run home and mail off your Great American Novel -- or at least your own dashed-off U.I.M. -- to Random House, publisher to the stars.
posted by serafinapekkala at 11:24 AM PST - 22 comments

How they censor Tintin comic books in Iran
posted by hoder at 11:18 AM PST - 12 comments

"The entry is dated June 1981, and while I have no memory of writing it, the penmanship is unmistakably my own. There, between accounts of my grandfather dying and a game-winning double I hit in Little League, is an account of my being raped three years before. I concluded the entry by wondering what I would do if I ever met the man who'd raped me on the street once I myself was a grown man." Original article is a few months old but the follow up (here) is fresh. [romenesko]
posted by dobbs at 10:39 AM PST - 19 comments

Paper Wars. (flash animation)
posted by Ljubljana at 10:11 AM PST - 4 comments

Eastasia plans attacks on Eurasia "Efforts each of you make to be vigilant – such as reporting suspicious items or activities to authorities – do make a difference. Every citizen using their common sense and eyes and ears can support our national effort to stop the terrorists. Thank you for your continued resolve in the face of the ongoing threat of terrorism. We must continue to work together – to ensure that the freedom we just celebrated continues as the hallmark of this great nation." Are you scared yet?
posted by skechada at 10:07 AM PST - 57 comments

Her name was Courage & is written Olga "Olga" (.pdf file in main link) is Olga Rudge, violinist, first promoter of the Vivaldi Renaissance, and longtime companion of the poet Ezra Pound. Pound maintained a complicated and delicate balance between the two most significant women in his life, Olga and his wife Dorothy Shakespear (who, among other things, was the daughter of Yeats's mistress). ‘‘Paris is where EP and OR met, and everything in my life happened,’’ Olga (listen to her voice here) said later of the chance encounter with Ezra at 20, rue Jacob, in the salon of Natalie Barney. They were together for fifty years, through the dark-night years of Pound's madness (arrested in 1945 for treason, deemed unable to stand trial and sent to an American mental institution, he once suggested to the UPI bureau chief in Rome that the United States trade Guam for some sound films of Japanese Noh plays, asked Truman many times to make him Ambadassor to Japan or Moscow; Guy Davenport reports dining with him one evening and all Ez said was "gnocchi"), until the poet's death in 1972. She lived on for another quarter century, turning up at conferences of Pound scholars --as far afield as Hailey, Idaho, Pound's birthplace, where she gave a lecture in the local movie theater. "Write about Pound", she told publishers who asked her to write her autobiography. (more inside, with Cantos)
posted by matteo at 7:53 AM PST - 15 comments

Running of the naked bull-equivalents? (warning - NSFW, maybe - pic of naked female buttocks) Wouldn't this PETA protest, over bullfight cruelty, be more directly analogous to the "Running of the Bulls" if the naked runners were to be chased by a herd of meat eaters, on motor scooters, armed with stun guns?
posted by troutfishing at 7:43 AM PST - 25 comments

Firefighters defend $120 million telescope. Obviously forest fires and telescopes (qtvr) don't mix.
posted by tomplus2 at 6:35 AM PST - 7 comments

Xaphoon! It's a saxophone! No, it's a clarinet! It's dirt cheap and it fits on your pocket! Apparently these have been around for twenty years, but I've never heard of them before. I've ordered myself one of the plastic ones. Has anyone here played one of these things?
posted by chrid at 6:29 AM PST - 16 comments

Andrew Dice Clay loses it on CNN/fn. Just lovely. Don't have any details on this but it's worth a look.
posted by coudal at 6:06 AM PST - 43 comments

Operation Tiger Claw Whereupon a student exercises his right to free speech in a public school setting...
posted by konolia at 5:33 AM PST - 92 comments

I haven't yet spent the nine-and-a-half hours it takes to watch "Shoah" but this sad, floating article makes me want to.
posted by iffley at 1:21 AM PST - 6 comments

"It would be best if the arrest or killing of [Osama bin Laden] were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight July." During the first three days of the Democratic National Convention, the Bush administration offers The July Surprise.
posted by four panels at 6:13 PM PST - 105 comments

Follow the blooming of the Corpseflower. The Titan opened about halfway during the course of the morning and afternoon yesterday, giving off stronger waves of odor as the day progressed. The peak odor and opening was in the early evening and by 10PM the pulses of odor became less strong. The daily progress of the Amorphophallus Titanum.
posted by jokeefe at 5:26 PM PST - 7 comments

Could you fit 100 songs onto a single CD?
posted by holloway at 2:28 PM PST - 55 comments

Lawmakers ask that U.N. monitor election "A group of congressional Democrats, led by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, has asked the United Nations to monitor this year's presidential election." Fortunately, the UN said no. Unbelievable. I hope that everyone that signed this letter will lose their seat in the November election. What a shameless publicity stunt. "Besides Johnson, Democratic members of Congress signing the letter to Annan were Julia Carson of Indiana; Jerrold Nadler, Edolphus Towns, Joseph Crowley and Carolyn B. Maloney, all of New York; Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Corrine Brown of Florida, Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, Danny K. Davis of Illinois and Michael M. Honda of California."
posted by Oxydude at 1:26 PM PST - 114 comments

Wave of Outings hits Congress--Closet-cases running scared --being targeted are the closeted anti-gay members of Congress (and their staff), all a result of the Federal Marriage Amendment, due to come to a symbolic vote sometime before the election in November. More here, too: “We have accepted for far too long fellow gays who work for horribly anti-gay politicians and thus help those politicians bash our community,” Aravosis said. “It’s time we stopped tolerating this situation as normal. These people need, at the very least, to be confronted over their hypocrisy, and when we see them in public we ought to tell them we don’t approve.” And still more from Signorile
posted by amberglow at 1:17 PM PST - 86 comments

You don't support Democrats. Why should your ketchup?
posted by Evstar at 1:17 PM PST - 35 comments

THIS IS NOT WHY WE WANTED ROBOTS
tinyurl used so as not to ruin the joke, link is to gizmodo, safe for work, but may cause a freakout.
posted by Capn at 12:19 PM PST - 62 comments

Rodin Museum.
posted by hama7 at 11:51 AM PST - 12 comments

Spiderman 2, Lego Style (quicktime)
posted by jcruelty at 11:43 AM PST - 18 comments

Disease Trading Cards! Here's set two! There's diseases for everyone at the CDC 'kids' page!
[warning; squeam factor, PDF]

Caveat: Several search attempts to verify it's not got the Double Post Syndrome. Does not include bubble gum.
posted by moonbird at 11:28 AM PST - 3 comments

Bill Sienkiewicz: aside from being an award winning comic-book artist (his New Mutants stint is my particular favorite), has also done some amazing film, televison and graphic work.
posted by signal at 11:25 AM PST - 10 comments

House of Bush, House of Saud, House of Cards? A superb, reasoned discussion of "How Does the Saudi Relationship With the Bush Family Affect U.S. Foreign Policy?" - regardless of which side you might agree with, it's one of the very few calm, rational media conversations on this topic.
posted by twsf at 10:52 AM PST - 23 comments

Wacky Packages are back! Everyone's favourite stickers from childhood are back. The originals were developed by Maus author Art Spiegelman way back in 1967, with the first series of stickers being released in 1973.

Sometimes goofy, often gross, Wacky Packages were a 10-year-old's dream come true (with Garbage Pail Kids a close second).
posted by fizz-ed at 10:28 AM PST - 13 comments

Halliburton's business dealings in Iran: Waxman’s and Thompson’s complaints revolve around a Halliburton subsidiary called Halliburton Products and Services, which is based in Dubai and registered in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven in the Caribbean. As the Financial Times first reported, the subsidiary opened an office in Tehran in February 2000, when Cheney was still CEO of Halliburton. The subsidiary has sold $40 million worth of oil services in Iran.
Thompson, who is acting on behalf of the city’s pension funds, has asked Halliburton for clarifications about its business dealings in Iran, a country listed by the American government as a sponsor of terrorism and thus subject to stringent U.S. trade sanctions. Thompson claims that Halliburton has been using its subsidiary to circumvent a 1995 executive order barring American companies from doing business with Tehran.
posted by hoder at 10:27 AM PST - 5 comments

Funny Microsoft Knowledge base articles. Cookies Lost After Upgrading to Windows XP, Calculator Does Not Reliably Subtract Two Numbers in Windows, etc...
posted by srboisvert at 9:59 AM PST - 11 comments

happy pencil [note: flash, safe for work, portfolio]
posted by crunchland at 7:25 AM PST - 8 comments

By the way, you'll earn 30% of each donation you bring in for the RNC. The people who brought you fun customized campaign posters return for an encore with an affiliate program for fundraising. Rather than relying upon real grassroots fundraising, why not just offer commissions to anyone who'd like to promote your candidate? Just how many ways can the Internet come up with to violate campaign finance law? Ready ... set ... link!
posted by bclark at 6:05 AM PST - 20 comments

Over a thousand U.S. soldiers have died in the War on Terror. As of today, 872 soldiers have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 129 in Operation Enduring Freedom. Time for a moment of silence, perhaps, before sharing your reflections on the subject.
posted by insomnia_lj at 5:52 AM PST - 49 comments

The Newsweek-Fahrenheit wars - Michael Isikoff's "seven errors, distortions and selective omissions of crucial information" detailed by Craig Unger, "House of Bush, House of Saud" author (read excerpts of his book at Salon.com, for members or by a "day pass") Isikoff has heavily cited Unger's book but, it seems, not bothered to read Unger's generously provided source files. "Liberal" PBS is not excluded, as credulous (or ignorant) "On the Media" host Bob Garfield's July 2 interview with Isikoff demonstrates. What shall we call such pervasive, ongoing and seemingly willful patterns of inaccuracy, distortion, and selective omission?
posted by troutfishing at 5:39 AM PST - 34 comments

E-mail snooping is legal. A U.S. federal appeals court set an unsettling precedent last week by ruling (PDF) that an e-mail provider did not break the law when he copied and read e-mail messages sent to customers through his server.
posted by homunculus at 12:30 AM PST - 15 comments

Joshua Green wrote an interesting and insightful piece regarding the current state of political advertisements. Here is an example of an ad by a media consultant he refers to, based in Pittsburgh. Another spin here. I've often wondered why they're so predictable. The Atlantic gives us a glimpse into poly. ad history and, quite possibly, its future.
posted by BlueTrain at 9:51 PM PST - 8 comments

Illegally imprison children for 13 years, make them do degrading things, deny them food to the point of degrading them further, force them as teenagers to wear diapers, tie them up, even give them mental problems! Get 9 months in a prison yourself. That's an expense rate of just about 17 : 1! Why not come to Canada and enjoy these exceedingly low rates today before they're gone?
posted by shepd at 8:41 PM PST - 54 comments

Do you find programming books so dry and boring that they're difficult to concentrate on? Do you want to learn Ruby? You need Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby.
posted by reklaw at 8:03 PM PST - 20 comments

A very frustrated RV salesman. Nothing deep here, just a few laughs. (NSFW - language) via themorningnews.org
posted by efalk at 8:01 PM PST - 21 comments

85% of all email is spam. 83% of all email is spam. Between 80 and 90% of all email is spam. 80% of all email is spam. 76% of all email is spam. Between 64 and 78% of all email is spam. 64% of all email is spam. 63% of all email is spam. 60% of all email is spam. 52% of all email in 2004 will be spam. 50% of all email is spam. By 2006 98% of all email will be spam.
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:26 PM PST - 36 comments

Metafilter, meet meatfilter. An index to things vegetarian and vegan.
posted by clevershark at 7:08 PM PST - 21 comments

wheely wheely clevver
posted by marvin at 4:56 PM PST - 12 comments

Streetcars, buses and trolleys of the former USSR. An extensive collection of pictures of public transportation from the Baltic to Siberia. Here's a babelfish translation of the index page. (via The Daily Czech)
posted by Ljubljana at 3:39 PM PST - 5 comments

With under four months left to the real election, the Atlas of Presidential Elections is holding a mock election (free registration required to vote), in which Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik holds a lead over John Kerry and George W. Bush. The real results may be a little bit different in November.
posted by RobbieFal at 3:19 PM PST - 8 comments

He likes it when you tickle him. A small but cute web thing.
posted by iffley at 2:51 PM PST - 12 comments

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that Israel is on the verge of a civil war. The Israeli Knesset held an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss the growing threat of violence and anti-government assassinations--but this time, the anti-Sharon and anti-Likud threats are from the Israeli Right, not Left.

Angry settlers (who are about to become ex-settlers), egged on by a few extremist rabbis, oppose Israel's disengagement and pullout plan from Gaza (which is already underway) and the West Bank: "The General Security Service (GSS) believes that the next assassin of an Israeli Prime Minister is already here and is looking for an opportunity to strike. "This is not an academic possibility anymore. The danger is clear and present. A small core of settlers believes that Sharon is disengagement, and disengagement is Sharon, and they want to stop him," a GSS official told Channel 1 TV. "There are people who have already taken the decision that, come the day they are going to 'save Eretz Israel, that they are going to kill the PM or a minister, a defense official or a policeman." Ironically, the only people who oppose the pullout/disengagement plan even more than the settlers are Palestinians, who oppose it 65% to 34% in a new poll, down from a previous support of 73% in February. [more inside]
posted by Asparagirl at 2:27 PM PST - 45 comments

No Circles [ flash, game, addicting ]
posted by psychotic_venom at 1:50 PM PST - 19 comments

Introduction to the Art of Fugue.
posted by Gyan at 12:08 PM PST - 16 comments

New Blogs! No, I'm not talking about Michael Moore. I mean that Every Member of the Cast of Achewood (even Molly) has now started a freakin' weblog. Hell of pointless ambitious...
posted by soyjoy at 11:09 AM PST - 34 comments

Croatian Properties for Sale
Charming little places for charming big prices. I've never been to Croatia, but I wouldn't have guessed that a 1,600 sq. foot apartment would go for $650,000... Is all of eastern Europe so expensive?
posted by Irontom at 11:00 AM PST - 14 comments

Hot on the heels of the critically-acclaimed War on Drugs and its blockbuster sequel, the War on Terror, an alliance of U.S. and Canadian organizations sets its sights on yet another noun, this time with the War on Pornography. The first salvo in the conflict was, naturally, fired in Utah.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:00 AM PST - 80 comments

Benefit Concert: Calexico in Calexico. The band Calexico will play for the first time ever in the City of Calexico July 9th in a benefit concert promoting border crossing death awareness. Since the U.S. Border Patrol began to document these deaths in 1999, over 2000 illegal immigrants have died in search of a new life in the United States. Calexico, formed by Joey Burns and John Convertino, will donate all proceeds to a non-profit organization supporting humanity.
posted by labotsirc at 9:52 AM PST - 10 comments

Build your own PVR. Why TiVo when you can freevo? A cool little forum for couch potatoes warriors.
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:32 AM PST - 27 comments

ass-vertise! [warning: no nudity, but somewhat cheeky. possibly NSFW.]
posted by whatnot at 9:31 AM PST - 6 comments

Mindguard ... protects your mind by actively jamming and/or scrambling psychotronic mind-control signals and removing harmful engrammic pollutants from your brain. It also has the ability to scan for and decipher into English specific signals so you can see exactly Who wants to control you and what They are trying to make you think.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:11 AM PST - 11 comments

In My Place. Brent posted a link on his blog today to an "ongoing, unfinished series of journal entries [he's been writing] since testing positive for hiv last year". I'm taking the entries one at a time, as they're poignant... so I've not yet read through them all. It's a brave thing... brave and beautiful. God speed Brent, and I hope that your sharing will touch the hearts of those who suffer alone.
posted by silusGROK at 8:08 AM PST - 6 comments

The supreme court ruling that Guant?namo Bay prisoners can challenge their detention in the US is something that renews hope that America is not going down the drain. Slowly everyone understands the madness this administration wanted to drag us all in.
posted by acrobat at 7:42 AM PST - 18 comments

The Australian National Public Toilet Map.
posted by hama7 at 7:03 AM PST - 7 comments

Rats. Nature Rat's Genome Special Ratbots, Rats Gone Wild- Oxfordshire, Rat Clones, Renaissance rat.
posted by srboisvert at 6:49 AM PST - 4 comments

That most peculiar of spectacles the Fiesta de san Fermín (Running of the Bulls) seems to still exist and will be going ahead tomorrow. The event is held in parallel with Feria del Toro (the Bullfighting Fair); the run itself seems to be in the interests of transporting the bulls to the fair while getting them good and angry, confused, scared and weakened in the process. Being that the event is in honor of Saint Fermín, when the San Fermín church strikes 8am, the bulls are released and the runners get underway, trying to avoid them on their just under 1km trip. On arrival at the Plaza del Toro (Bullring) they are herded into corrals and later released so the crowd can watch the matadors kill them in traditional bullfighting fashion [wmv: 380k | 150k | 56k]. Of course, many people are not really so keen on this event; and it seems PETA will be holding one of their typically daft protests. Can't people just throw tomatoes at each other or something?
posted by ed\26h at 3:48 AM PST - 6 comments

Blog to work? Blogging and journalism.
How do weblog posts fit in with the traditional journalistic procedures of subbing and editing?
Can newspaper weblogs ever really be part of the blogging community?
Should journalists be allowed to maintain personal weblogs?
Jane Perrone is giving a talk on BlogTalk 2.0 in Vienna today. This is v1.1 (sic!) of the Program. Summaries and rough notes from the Monday afternoon sessions at Blogtalk can be found here. Today's topics: After midnight. Weblogs and jam sessions and does talking about blogging suck?
posted by tcp at 2:15 AM PST - 6 comments

Hidden Lives Revealed. 'Hidden Lives Revealed provides an intriguing encounter with children who were in the care of The Children's Society in late Victorian and early 20th Century Britain. ' Via the 24 Hour Museum.
posted by plep at 12:37 AM PST - 5 comments

Veepfilter: The well-kept secret about Kerry's running mate might just have broken... on an aviation message board, of all places.
posted by moonbird at 11:47 PM PST - 161 comments

An editorial in support of legalizing marijuana (or at least modifying pot laws) from none other than William F. Buckley Jr. in the National Review.
posted by msacheson at 10:30 PM PST - 13 comments

This month, in The Atlantic Monthly, Talking Points Memo's Joshua Micah Marshall writes an interesting article discussing the potential aspects of Kerry's foreign policy. The article itself is thought-provoking and erudite, and of equal if not more interest is the 3-part interview with Senator Joseph Biden (D) of Delaware, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Part One is here, with Parts Two and Three to be released later this week. Biden speaks about foreign policy in an overbearing, yet refreshingly intelligent, articulate, analytical manner.
posted by lazaruslong at 10:07 PM PST - 2 comments

The Living Room Candidate --more than 250 political ads aired on TV since 1952 covering each election from Stevenson/Eisenhower thru 2000 (in wmp or real formats). And, as an added bonus, the Desktop Candidate, covering web ads for this election cycle. All brought to you by the American Museum of the Moving Image
posted by amberglow at 7:17 PM PST - 5 comments

The Rest is Noise : New Yorker music critic Alex Ross' blog.
Also: A C Douglas. Jessica Duchen. Greg Sandow. Michael Brooke. The Rambler.
posted by cbrody at 6:51 PM PST - 8 comments

sequency [note: shockwave]
posted by crunchland at 4:41 PM PST - 5 comments

Chinese Pressure Dissident Physician. Jiang Yanyong, the doctor who blew the whistle on China's cover-up of SARS, is not as famous as the "Unknown Rebel," but perhaps he should be. Earlier this year he wrote a defiant letter to the Chinese government, urging them to admit the mistakes of Tiananmen Square. He was detained shortly before the anniversary, and is now and undergoing interrogation and "brainwashing sessions." HRW is calling for his release.
posted by homunculus at 2:16 PM PST - 4 comments

EXTERMINATE! The Daleks are Exterminated: The BBC announces that the Daleks will NOT appear in the new Doctor Who series. It appears that talks between the BBC and the estate of Terry Nation, creator of the Daleks, have broken down and the BBC has announced that the famed pepper pots will not appear in the series revival. Can Doctor Who really be Doctor Who without the Daleks? What other TV series do you recall that have had their franchises ruined due to logisitical/political/legal hangups such as this?
posted by tgrundke at 12:51 PM PST - 37 comments

Sometimes bars give you a free beer on election night after you come in and show proof that you have voted. If you're wondering whether your local watering hole will be awarding your civic duty, check out Election Night Drink Specials. Exercise your rights in this democracy, increase voter turnout, and get drunk for free. It's projects like these that make me proud to be an American.
posted by mathowie at 11:34 AM PST - 25 comments

A Guide to Alternative Handwriting and Shorthand Systems
posted by anastasiav at 10:53 AM PST - 8 comments

'Bad' Catholics "...From President Bush seeking the Vatican's help on social issues to the decision by some Catholic bishops to deny communion to pro-choice (but not pro-war or pro-death penalty) politicians and their supporters, some on the right are actively trying to portray John Kerry and others on the left as "bad Catholics." But such attempts could well backfire, as it appears the majority of Catholic voters dislike the selective and political co-opting of their faith. .."
posted by Postroad at 10:42 AM PST - 30 comments

Jesus saved my vagina. A new wave of Christian merchandise.
posted by the fire you left me at 10:40 AM PST - 48 comments

"BBC wields axe over websites" Some BBC websites are going to be going away soon due to a "public value test", discussed earlier here and here. This comes after the Graf Report and charges that they aren't different enough from commercial sites. Will you miss "Pure Soap," "Fantasy Football" and the others?
posted by Stoatfarm at 10:38 AM PST - 4 comments

The 100 Wonders of the World. A list, which includes both photos and a short description of all the wonders. The list may not be complete, but it's an interesting list for those of us, who love to travel. Italy seems to be a nice place to start, with 12 of the 100 wonders (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12).
posted by einarorn at 10:09 AM PST - 26 comments

Ties should be settled using this game, not shootouts. For those who aren't yet sick of soccer. Via the bowels of a SportsFilter linkdump, this is too challenging not to share. Shockwave. Damned hard.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 9:40 AM PST - 13 comments

347 square feet? Hyper-efficient living space.
posted by yoga at 5:28 AM PST - 59 comments

The Jewish Encyclopaedia. 'This website contains the complete contents of the 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia, which was originally published between 1901-1906. The Jewish Encyclopedia, which recently became part of the public domain, contains over 15,000 articles and illustrations.'
posted by plep at 11:56 PM PST - 9 comments

Larry's U.S. Navy Airship Picture Book. No longer available in paper, but still with us in bits. Lawrence F. Rodrigues served in the Navy, in Airship Squadron 3, out of Lakehurst NAS, beginning in 1953. This website presents photos and memories of his service days. It's fascinating.

As a bonus, you may wish to read up on the Details of Modern Airship Construction, ca. 1927, or to return to Dannysoar's site to observe the plans for a twelve-foot model helium-lofted rubber-band powered flying stick-and-tissue dirigible (scroll down a bit).

Up Ship!

didn't someone end a post with those words this year? Google didn't raise hide nor hair of it for me...
posted by mwhybark at 8:59 PM PST - 3 comments

Frogland.
posted by hama7 at 6:17 PM PST - 4 comments

Last week popular peer-to-peer telephony company Skype launched SkypeOut, allowing you to call regular telephone numbers from your computer or PDA. The price list is sweet, and the global rate for selected countries looks good too. There's no press relase, news announcement or description page yet, but Heiko Hebig confirms that it's working with an early short review.
(Via Loic Le Meur Blog, Rodrigo A. Sepúlveda.)
Related on MeFi: Skype Launches.
posted by will at 2:24 PM PST - 16 comments

Tranquility Base. A nice bucolic landscape with a dog, goats, llamas, sheep, and trance music, by Jeff Minter of Llamasoft. [16.6 MB QuickTime, via MonkeyFilter.]
posted by homunculus at 1:19 PM PST - 11 comments

Increase your Google-Fu. I've been a user of everyone's favorite search engine since it was in beta, but still failed on searches where others succeeded. It seems that the coolest search operators aren't documented on google.com at all. Now I can aspire to find scary and interesting stuff on the Web.
posted by Daddio at 12:47 PM PST - 16 comments

Cable channel Trio drops the N-bomb An original documentary, premiering tonight, takes a close look at a troublesome word.
posted by LinusMines at 11:15 AM PST - 20 comments

34 new sites have been inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List including the Iranian city of Bam recently devastated by earthquake and a site in North Korea. Some new sites in pictures.
posted by stbalbach at 10:38 AM PST - 3 comments

Health-care costs shoot up, millions in U.S. left gasping "...there are signs of growing frustration. The Gallup Organization reported in January that for the first time since 1992, when Americans are polled about urgent health problems facing the country, the cost of health care is No. 1, ahead of issues such as cancer, obesity, and smoking..."
posted by Postroad at 10:03 AM PST - 76 comments

In heartland, Cheney touts "conservative values" and therapeutic use of "F-word" After his controversial, widely and inconsistently reported use of the "F-word" - recently declared to be "abhorrent" by FCC head Michael Powell (as uttered by Bono) - Dick Cheney's "no regrets", "felt better after I had done it" justification suggests that the "if it feels good, do it" ethic of the 60's counterculture has now spread to the conservative mainstream. Some see a role reversal, as a confused type of postmodernist, relativistic thinking gnaws into the conservative zeitgeist. Seventy year old Florence Orris, at a Parma, Ohio Cheney/Republican rally, sympathized with Cheney's "F-word" catharsis, and with relativist values : "I'm almost getting to that point with my Democratic friends..." (from main link) "Conservatism, as I understand it, has always had as its end the cultivation of virtue in the individual and the community," writes one conservative who asks - is it reasonable to look towards the state, and to potty mouthed politicians, for the promotion of public values? Laments one observer of the "Culture Wars", "Who is behind the effort to undermine our moral standards and enslave our people?"
posted by troutfishing at 9:19 AM PST - 36 comments

News Skim Comics [1] [2] [3] NSFW -swearing and some crude humour. mirror
posted by srboisvert at 5:59 AM PST - 14 comments

Beershots :: Microscopic Views of Beers from Around the World.
Also, an assortment of cocktails.
Shamelessly stolen from Plep
posted by anastasiav at 11:52 PM PST - 4 comments

2 Fast + 2 Curious [note : flash]
posted by crunchland at 10:40 PM PST - 9 comments

Custom paint job on Afghan Hind attack chopper. Impressive, but why? (Via Gizmodo)
posted by marvin at 10:06 PM PST - 23 comments

The New European Football Champion Will Be Greece Or Portugal: Sunday's Euro 2004 match is the first final ever between two national teams who've never made a final before, after dispatching the biggest, richest European powers like England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France. Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova, a 17-year old Russian from Siberia has won Wimbledon, defeating the mighty Serena Williams. Perhaps size and money, despite the multi-million contracts, still aren't everything in sport. Or does it depend on the sport? [More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 7:08 PM PST - 52 comments

Due to temporary budget shortfalls, I find myself spending my Saturdays elbow deep in breadmaking. Sourdough bread is perhaps one of the most primal forms of bread relying an an artificial ecosystem of hundreds of different bacteria and yeasts to digest grain flours and produce gas. The souring of the dough has complex effects on the flavor of the resulting bread and is necessary for low-protein flours such as rye. Free starter cultures can be obtained from the friends of Carl who continue his tradition of mailing his culture to anyone who sent a self-addressed stamped envelope. You can buy cultures from around the world, but if you want to live dangerously, you can cultivate your own by just using a mixture of flour and water relying on microbial flora growing on the flour. Sourdough in some ways puts the art of hacking back into breadmaking because it requires a deeper understanding of what is going on beyond just throwing a set of dry and wet ingredients into a bread machine.

Which could explain why I'm still lucky to get something other than a brick. But like beermaking, the DIY satisfaction makes up for many flaws in the final product. (And on final edit, I can't get away with making this post without the obligatory link to the sourdough faqs.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 5:27 PM PST - 32 comments

The Beijing Guide.
posted by hama7 at 3:05 PM PST - 5 comments

Rising Force Mud Remember back a couple of years, when the rage was "Multi User Dungeons "? You know graphical role playing. Well, its still around, And loads more interesting than the new online rpgs than the playstation has going. So check it out and play awhile if you want.
posted by edmcbride at 1:11 PM PST - 15 comments

Will John Kerry reach higher market share then Steve Jobs? I love Errol Morris' documentaries, but is an art house film director and Apple pitch man really the right person to craft political ads aimed at persuading undecided voters?
posted by twsf at 10:19 AM PST - 8 comments

The Stop Bush Project
...a documentation of anti-Bush sentiment from around the world expressed through graffiti, placards, flyers and other spontaneous, 'guerilla' means.
posted by moonbird at 8:19 AM PST - 75 comments

Today is Free Comic Book Day in the US and few other places. Here's your chance to get reaquainted with an old friend.
posted by signal at 6:55 AM PST - 13 comments

AlexWarp is a small java applet that lets you warp, stretch, distort and then save image files.
posted by carter at 6:13 AM PST - 3 comments

Keith's Fractal Art.
posted by Gyan at 2:17 AM PST - 7 comments

Lance Armstrong - Le Tour de France It is that time of the year again T-Minus 8 Hours until the kick off of the Greatest Cycling Event in the World.....2004 Le Tour De France. Lance Armstrong is the Favored again to Win his 6TH Title in a row! In order to watch, listen and follow the race check out: Lance's official Fan club website or Le Tour's Official Daily Posting and Standing, lastly those of you who will need their daily fix without a computer Daily Results can be sent to your wireless phone via text messages. This will be a very exciting time from July 3 to July 25, one prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,390 kilometers or 2,106.5 miles. Go Lance.....Wear Yellow Live Strong!
posted by Max's Daddy at 12:07 AM PST - 28 comments

scrap books ~ images at random you ought to see collected over thirty years (dedicated to Kirsty Carter)
posted by crunchland at 10:36 PM PST - 3 comments

How many different species live on or in the average human body? New Scientist’s Last Word is often an interesting place to go...
posted by Termite at 9:49 PM PST - 13 comments

"First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on 'Customer Reviews,' and sort them by 'Lowest Rating First'..." The Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game.
posted by reklaw at 9:45 PM PST - 46 comments

what the font?
posted by delmoi at 9:36 PM PST - 6 comments

Not to touch on politics, but I found this particularly striking example of how Google News can reveal a dimension of 'news' that can be difficult to observe.
posted by sudama at 7:59 PM PST - 19 comments

battle for the sudan - some friday flash fun for your playing pleasure. this is a fun game, but it takes a little practice to figure out the strategy. i recommend playing the computer until you can always beat it before playing other people. also, try out the suggested starting positions before trying to make your own.
posted by christy at 5:23 PM PST - 9 comments

Sexual abuse amongst the Amish has traditionally been handled by the Amish. However, some victims are breaking with their communities and exposing their cloistered world to legal authorities and losing their entire family in the process. (Nerve.com link, relatively SFW)
posted by nathan_teske at 3:31 PM PST - 10 comments

Gen Art.
posted by hama7 at 2:59 PM PST - 3 comments

Scientists speculate that the reason that we have such big brains is so we can lie effectively. Even our primate cousins fool each other so that they can sneak off for extra grub or enjoy a quick round of illicit monkey sex. Apparently, it all comes down to the neocortex.
posted by rks404 at 2:07 PM PST - 28 comments

Y... M... C... A! Um... er... did I miss a memo or something? (Via, yes, Fark.)
posted by soyjoy at 2:01 PM PST - 24 comments

You whores!
posted by cbrody at 1:26 PM PST - 15 comments

Rock Paper Saddam! (via littlefros)
posted by Ufez Jones at 1:14 PM PST - 17 comments

My fab fave UK public intellectual was somehow overlooked in the popularity contest discussed yesterday, and I was surprised that nobody had ever FPPd him here (at least, as far as the search function can determine...)
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:57 PM PST - 4 comments

The spokesman said its 'Important to reach out to every single supporter' I guess I shouldn't be suprised, and I guess it's not illegal, but I'll try to be bi-partisan here and say this just seems wrong!!
posted by matty at 12:52 PM PST - 14 comments

Sounds of silence You may not support the Bush plan to invade Iraq, but here is how he has helpeed bring democractic values to a country run by a tyrant.
posted by Postroad at 12:49 PM PST - 9 comments

Glen! Glen Glen Glen! [QuickTime]
posted by kirkaracha at 11:48 AM PST - 27 comments

Architecture pilgrimage. Sketches of the world's great architecture.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:48 AM PST - 6 comments

On Monday, US Civil Administrator Paul Bremer handed over "sovereignty" to the Interim Government of Iraq in a furtive ceremony, two days ahead of schedule. Not the stuff that independence days are made of. How sovereign is Iraq; what kind of future does the ongoing process offer for that shattered nation; and most significantly, how can a genuinely free, democratic and prosperous Iraq be created? Al-Ahram Weekly, in these special pages, invited Iraqi journalists and intellectuals to provide some answers. via Informed Comment
posted by y2karl at 10:18 AM PST - 10 comments

Retro toys: I remember using the garden hose to frantically try and dissolve that pink shit. We eventually cleaned the knife, but I remember big blobs of it still on the ground with ants stuck in it. We ended up keep Stretch's head as a trophy.

People reminisce about their old toys. Mostly about topics like how they tortured GI Joe, made mrs. beasley look like a victim of domestic violence, and knew that Steve Scout was living an alternative lifestyle. Not every memory's a gem, but some are a real laugh.
posted by Mayor Curley at 10:01 AM PST - 11 comments

The anonymous author of Imperial Hubris has been revealed.
posted by sixpack at 9:40 AM PST - 12 comments

"The men who killed the contractors were not turned in,
and very few weapons were surrendered, but the Americans agreed to a deal nonetheless."

A letter from Falluja, and a forshadow of US approach to iraq in the months and years to come? One wonders about about the potential blowback ...
posted by specialk420 at 9:11 AM PST - 9 comments

RIP, Marlon Brando.
posted by schlaager at 8:45 AM PST - 65 comments

Papier mache. Arts or crafts? Does it matter?
posted by deathofme at 7:47 AM PST - 4 comments

Robots, classic robots!
How to build a B9. "What?" The B9! You know, "The robot from Lost in Space". From B9 Today, "your B9 Robot Resource." See also: B9 Robot Builders Club and the Robot Builder's Sourcebook and Robot Hut. Everybody's doing it.
(Also from B9 Today, building the Mystic Seer Machine from the Twilight Zone classic "Nick of Time," starring Wm Shatner and written by the legendary Richard Matheson).
Of course, the sorely neglected Robby "could and should be build" too. And where's Gort, and sexy Maria? Ehh, you can probably chat with her somewhere on this "AI" robot page.
posted by Shane at 7:33 AM PST - 14 comments

Jargon's Corollary: "Following a demonstration of Godwin's Law in action, the first person to refer to Godwin's Law also loses."
posted by majcher at 6:35 AM PST - 20 comments

Too much time looking at staple? Simon Cox is trying to figure out what the perfect angle for a staple between several sheets of paper should be. Proof that there can be beauty in every little office things.
posted by TNLNYC at 6:33 AM PST - 14 comments

The Man Who Best Understood America Was A French Aristocrat: If there's a book which manages to grow better and more pertinent with every passing year, it's Tocqueville's fascinating, prescient and utterly apposite Democracy in America. Of how many other books could you safely say every American and European should read it and know beforehand they will enjoy it and learn from it? Of none.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:26 AM PST - 21 comments

Curveball :: Flash Game
posted by rocketman at 6:24 AM PST - 11 comments

" It was beyond description, really, it was mind-blowing," she said. "I'm surprised at how surprised I am at the beauty and the clarity of these images. They are shocking to me."
posted by moonbird at 6:17 AM PST - 2 comments

One slip and you're dead!
Marine cone snails are among the most venomous animals in existence, some producing as many as 100 different toxins. Due to their unique properties, the toxins are in hot demand for neuroscience research. Most researchers obtain the toxins from dead specimens, but one upstate New York biochemist is trying to farm them. Milking time is dangerous...
posted by Irontom at 5:48 AM PST - 13 comments

He plays the piano with his balls (SFW)
posted by mr.marx at 4:59 AM PST - 12 comments

Lion Kimbo spent three months writing down every thought he had. And has written a free to download book telling you how you can do the same.... Though quite why you would want to is beyond me....
posted by brettski at 3:41 AM PST - 15 comments

Homicide in Chicago: 1870-1930
July 25, 1899 Murphy, James, 28 years old, shot dead, saloon 1210 Wabash Av., by Lorezo Sodini, proprietor. Murphy refused to pay for drinks and ran out of saloon and threw stone through window. Sodini ran out and fired at him, killing him instantly. Harrison St. Station. Held by Coroner's Jury, July 29. Acquitted Dec. 9, 1899, by jury in Judge Baker's court. Case number: 1498
posted by tcp at 2:58 AM PST - 1 comment

Pen spinning is very cool. Have a look at Pentrix, with guides to help you learn, videos of some very nice looking variations, basic tricks and combinations. A word of warning though, trying these things in an open environment may well annoy your fellow humans; but this may be the only distraction for the bored and restricted office worker.
posted by ed\26h at 2:12 AM PST - 16 comments

Saddam Hussein. After his defiant appearance in court, is it impossible for him to face a fair trial? Does anyone feel he deserves one after his actions?
posted by emc at 1:27 AM PST - 63 comments

Cocaine Country, Sights & Sounds. An 8 minute Flash movie from National Geographic's story, Cocaine Country, by Carlos Villalón, about cocaine in Colombia and what the crop means to the people. [Via TalkLeft.]
posted by homunculus at 12:54 AM PST - 3 comments

Hubble harvests 100 new planets during a 7-day sweep of the bulge of the Milky Way.. If confirmed it would almost double the number of known planets to about 230. "I think this work has the potential to be the most significant advance in discovering extra-solar planetary systems since the first planets were discovered in the mid-1990s."
posted by stbalbach at 10:31 PM PST - 17 comments

"I enjoy life most when I have a boner." Lowbrow.com is back after a brief period of downtime. The format is extremely simple -- read one randomly selected Lowbrow Moment, hit reload, read the next one. What's Lowbrow about? It's about hard-earned street wisdom and raunchy sex; it's about drunken violence and heroic feats of masturbation. If your life is particularly Lowbrow, feel free to share, but beware of imitators.
posted by neckro23 at 10:02 PM PST - 12 comments

"Stop beating up your women because you can't find a job." Strong words from a paragon of the African American community.
posted by the fire you left me at 9:18 PM PST - 67 comments

The Original Tom Swift Series Public Domain Texts. Twenty-five of 'em for your perusal. In piles of formats, some including page scans, and with color cover images (mostly from here, where they also have larger images). Not that kind of Tom Swift, mind you.

I must admit, the domain name gave me pause. So far, no teleportation has transpired.
posted by mwhybark at 5:52 PM PST - 13 comments

Medicines 'killing 10,000 people'. A year. Only in Great Britain. "According to the researchers, 70% of these reactions could have been avoided". BBC reports.
posted by nandop at 5:36 PM PST - 31 comments

Permanent Makeup. Look like yourself, only better!

Many of Nancy Ruth's clients are tired of applying eyebrow pencil day after day. Or they don't want their eyeliner to smear every time they cry at a movie or rub their eyes.
posted by fizz-ed at 3:10 PM PST - 32 comments

america's heart and soul - so, they wouldn't release fahrenheit 9/11, but this, this is okay. are they making efforts to distance themselves from any involvement with fh9/11, or do they want to make sure that washington keeps listening?

From the chronicle:
Disney officials insist their 88-minute film, "America's Heart and Soul" -- stitching simple, positive vignettes of everyday Americans with sweeping vistas and up-tempo music -- is neither a response to Moore's politically charged hit nor any type of political statement itself.

more coverage here, and a review.
posted by christy at 2:57 PM PST - 34 comments

"Standard orbit, aye, sir." Following a nail-biting ring-plane crossing and 96-minute engine burn, Cassini has arrived, and is now in orbit around Saturn, 84 light-minutes away, sending in the first closeup pictures of the planet's rings. Also see the Planetary Society's details on the Orbit Insertion, Spaceflight Now's mission updates in weblog-like format, and raw images from the spacecraft as they come. Kudos, JPL! (Aside: the press has yet to tire of Lord of the Rings references.)
posted by brownpau at 2:47 PM PST - 14 comments

What the heck? Now even Slate is saying that you should ditch IE and switch to Firefox. But, as they say in the article, Slate is owned by Microsoft...
posted by reklaw at 1:55 PM PST - 62 comments

The CDC recently issued new HIV prevention guidelines that would mandate all organizations that get any federal funding to submit all surveys, curricula, web materials, posters, ads, brochures, etc. to new community-based Policy Review Panels. Politically appointed censors rather than health officials will now decide what's acceptable in terms of HIV prevention and education. Materials must promote abstinence and include a message about the ineffectiveness of condom use in preventing the spread of HIV and STDs. There is a period of public comment on the new regulations until August 16. - more inside -
posted by madamjujujive at 1:49 PM PST - 37 comments

Churchgoers get direction from Bush Campaign: The instruction sheet circulated by the Bush-Cheney campaign to religious volunteers lists 22 "duties" to be performed by specific dates. By July 31, for example, volunteers are to "send your Church Directory to your State Bush-Cheney '04 Headquarters or give [it] to a BC04 Field Rep" and "Talk to your Pastor about holding a Citizenship Sunday and Voter Registration Drive." Isn't this blatantly illegal?
posted by widdershins at 1:18 PM PST - 41 comments

Mr. Roh, tear down this firewall! South Korea's previous efforts to censor the beheading video of Kim Sun-Il have escalated considerably. They are now blocking most major weblog services, including Blogger/Blogspot, TypePad, and LiveJournal -- a degree of censorship for weblogs even greater than that of China. The rallying cry of opposition seems to be centering around this letter :
"I am writing this letter not primarily to criticize all Koreans .... No, my purpose is more specific: to cause the South Korean government as much embarrassment as possible, and perhaps to motivate Korean citizens to engage in some much-needed introspection. To this end, I need the blogosphere's help .... The best and quickest way to persuade the South Korean government to back down from its current position is to make it lose face in the eyes of the world." If you are interested in giving the South Korean Ministry of Information and Culture a piece of your mind, please email them at: webmaster@mic.go.kr.
posted by insomnia_lj at 12:28 PM PST - 16 comments

How long can he go? Jeopardy streak hits $697760 for 21 consecutive days.

This guys is simply amazing to watch. He's had more airtime than some tv stars. Any bets to how long he can go?
posted by blahblah at 12:17 PM PST - 54 comments

MEMRI adds a TV monitoring project. MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute) has added hundreds of clips from various Middle Eastern television stations (list of sources here). The archive of clips can be found here. There are amazing primary sources available, like "Saudi Sheik Sa'd Al-Breik on Human Rights in Islam and in the West", "Sheik Youssef Al-Qaradhawi in Favor of Democratic Elections in the Arab World", and "Former Dean of Humanities at Cairo's Ein Shams University: 9/11 was 100% American".
posted by loquax at 11:39 AM PST - 36 comments

What would you do if your opponent's elderly constituents needed a ride to vote? Jam their phone lines of course.
posted by LinemanBear at 11:30 AM PST - 12 comments

Ben's Game. A young cancer patient, Ben Duskin, designed a video game, a LucasArts developer built it for him. The game follows a young protagonist as he searches for protection from the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy.
posted by o2b at 11:01 AM PST - 19 comments

Outsourcing comes to Iraq. Interesting article from the WP (login req'd, get one here) about workers from countries such as India and South Korea, subcontracted by American companies, notably the ever-infamous Halliburtun. Effectively turned into indentured servants, these workers not only endure work conditions that American workers would never tolerate, but they do it in a war zone. "Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said contractors' use of multiple layers of subcontracts makes it difficult for the U.S. government to ensure the fair treatment of the workers it effectively employs."
posted by mkultra at 10:52 AM PST - 2 comments

Stasi, meet Highway Watch: The Department of Homeland Security this year gave $19.3 million to the American Trucking Associations, which is based So far, 10,000 truckers have signed on to become amateur sleuths. Over the next year, the goal is to add tollbooth workers, rest-stop employees and construction crews, creating a corps of 400,000 people drawn from every state. A child of Operation TIPS, of course.
posted by amberglow at 10:30 AM PST - 20 comments

AskTheTechGirl.com : Because not everyone gets off on calling India for tech support
via something positive, who also has a funny comic thread on this
posted by qDot at 10:20 AM PST - 6 comments

Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1970s (dis|cuss|discuss).
posted by LinusMines at 8:50 AM PST - 116 comments

The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies.
posted by hama7 at 7:10 AM PST - 4 comments

Meet the new Walkman. 20GB HD, 25 minutes of cache for skip-free playing. Works with Sony's Connect music service. Sharp-looking little player.
posted by jpoulos at 7:02 AM PST - 48 comments

How Fox News Gets Ratings

Move over Janet Jackson and CBS, here comes Fox News with the "full plow!" Descending to the depths and pushing the envelope for what constitutes "news," Rupert should be in for much larger fines than the little Super Bowl fiasco. Its good to see the mouthpiece for the Morality Party being bold enough to do what it takes to attract their demographic audience. (NSFW, but fine for broadcast television)
posted by nofundy at 6:59 AM PST - 36 comments

The Barney Fun Page was one of the first things I found online, along with The Jihad to Destroy Barney on the Worldwide Web. Back when nobody knew what a jihad was.
posted by angry modem at 6:20 AM PST - 8 comments

Iranian woman 'gives birth to frog' (BBC) "While it is unclear how this could have happened, the [Iranian] paper carries quotes from medical experts who say there are human characteristics to the animal....Medical history recounts stories of people who believed they had frogs - or even lizards or snakes - living and growing in their bodies....One of the most famous was the 17th Century case of Catharina Geisslerin, known as "the toad-vomiting woman" of Germany. " Could this be connected to that 20 pound carp's apocalyptic warnings spouted in Hebrew, last year, as a fish cutter tried to club it to death with a rubber hammer to make it into gefilte fish? Or, maybe it was those new tomatoes? Or an Old Testament thing, maybe a prophecy?
posted by troutfishing at 5:32 AM PST - 16 comments

'I am Mahabir Pun. I would like to take you on a tour of my village (Nangi), and my country (Nepal and the Himalayas). I would like you to learn about our High School in Nangi Village, Nepal. Some people from abroad have visited and worked in Nangi and have interesting stories to tell you of their time here. '
posted by plep at 5:19 AM PST - 11 comments

Top 100 British...Intellectuals? Rock bands, schmock bands. Who are currently the cream of British Intelligentsia? Prospect names 100 of (supposedly) the UK's finest and asks you to vote for your top 5, plus a write-in. The list is discussed further here. Some entrants may make you wonder, some may make you gasp, most you just won't have a clue about!
posted by biffa at 4:17 AM PST - 22 comments

On 1 July 2002 at 21:35:32 hrs a collision between a Tupolev TU154M, which was on a flight from Moscow/Russia to Barcelona/ Spain, and a Boeing B757-200, on a flight from Bergamo/Italy to Brussels/ Belgium, occurred north of the city of Ueberlingen (Lake of Constance). Investigation Report as of May 2004, PDF. Very detailed, intelligibly written.

71 people were killed in one of Europe's worst peacetime air accidents. The report comes the the conclusion that human error was the main cause. The TCAS system (PDF) which should have prevented the collision worked, but the Tupolew crew followed the ATC instructions. It turned out that the air traffic controller missed a key warning on his radar screen in one of a chain of errors. ATCs from nearby airports realized what was going on but weren't able to contact the responsible Skyguide controller because the telephone network did not work: the main telephone line was switched off because of work being done on the telephone network, and the collision warning system was temporarily shut down for maintenance.
The ATC in charge was stabbed to death in February 2004 by a Russian man who lost his wife, son and daughter in the plane crash.
posted by tcp at 2:15 AM PST - 9 comments

noctilucent clouds
It's that time of year again. Look to the skies after sunset.
posted by y2karl at 12:20 AM PST - 18 comments