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A (too?) in-depth article on the IMSAI 8080 featured in the movie WarGames. [more IMSAI images and info at 1000bit, the Obsolete Computer Museum, Erik Klein's Vintage Computers, and good ole' Wikipedia]
posted by jtron at 11:35 PM PST - 12 comments

"How do you deal with fear? Is it safer for them if I act or stay quiet? I don't want to get on a list."
posted by orthogonality at 11:25 PM PST - 66 comments

The Buffalo State Hospital is a vast complex of moldering Victorian buildings, sitting right in the middle of a residential neighborhood of Buffalo. It is also an architectural gem, not only by Buffalo standards, but for the nation as a whole. It is one of the largest and most complex commissions of New England architect H. H. Richardson, who is known for promulgating his unique, heavy looking stone Romanesque variant of the then dominant Queen Anne style. The Buffalo asylum’s grounds were planned by landscape architect (and designer of Central Park) Fredrick Law Olmsted. [more inside]
posted by pieisexactlythree at 10:38 PM PST - 16 comments

From Our Own Correspondent BBC journalist Alan Johnston gives his account of being kidnapped in Gaza for 114 days. Best in his own voice [mp3]. [more inside]
posted by TrashyRambo at 9:46 PM PST - 3 comments

The Band is one of the more user-friendly fan sites I have come across. What I appreciate most is the (unadvertised) chord charts. They are not always right but they are often not wrong. Subtle, theatrical chromaticism, your name is Mozart Robbie Robertson.
posted by St Urbain's Horseman at 7:21 PM PST - 16 comments

Finally, Radar brings you a quiz you can totally win.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:49 PM PST - 57 comments

So you've all heard about how global warming will lead to rising sea-levels, but what about falling freshwater levels? [more inside]
posted by Weebot at 5:18 PM PST - 43 comments

Damon & Jamie's Excellent Adventure is a documentary following the Gorillaz' boys - Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett - as they attempt to make an opera based on classic Chinese novel Journey to the West [or for them - the 70s television show Monkey]. The documentary follows the two year process with a decent section on Albarn's approach to learning a new form of music.
posted by meech at 4:52 PM PST - 8 comments

So he didn't read the baby books! BFD says Judith Rich Harris, author of the "No Two Alike", and originator of a controversial theory about personality development. Namely, that when it comes to our kids' adult personalities, what we did as parents doesn't really matter much at all.
posted by AceRock at 4:16 PM PST - 40 comments

Cuba: The Accidental Revolution. Hasta la revolucion ? Maybe, but some revolution is dictated more by need than by politics. In this documentary, we are shown how Cuba is converting from oil-subsidized agricolture to organic agricolture with remarkable results. The presence of a police state isn't conveniently forgotten, as much as the facts that public education, public healthcare and limited, regulated free enterprise markets are helping Cubans in the transition from the illusion of freedom in a subsidized economy to a far less comfortable and rich, but more sustainable and independant economy.
posted by elpapacito at 3:21 PM PST - 48 comments

Curiosities of Literature by Isaac D'Israeli (1766-1848). [more inside]
posted by homunculus at 3:10 PM PST - 10 comments

Cat Found!!! Not very friendly, I think he might be scared.
posted by GuyZero at 2:46 PM PST - 94 comments

Recently passed Benjamin Libet conducted some famous experiments that had incredible implications on how we think about free will and consciousness. The results of these experiments are open to interpretation.
posted by shotgunbooty at 1:56 PM PST - 28 comments

Flash Friday: Gravity Golf
posted by Mblue at 1:25 PM PST - 22 comments

Here are two seminal vampire films: Carl Dreyer's Vampyr and F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu. [more inside]
posted by Iridic at 1:01 PM PST - 19 comments

Flash Friday Fun: The frenetic, fun flash animations of Pascal Campion.
My favorites: The Door, the Saul Bass like les tomates and the bouncing ball brilliance of Catnip. [more inside]
posted by ssmith at 12:20 PM PST - 10 comments

Georgia's Supreme Court has agreed that Genarlow Wilson's 10-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole and accompanying lifetime sex offender status was cruel and unusual. Previously on MeFi. [more inside]
posted by mullingitover at 12:18 PM PST - 49 comments

Love American Style Season One Volume One is coming to DVD on November 20th. The series ran on ABC-TV from 1969-1974, was nominated for an emmy for best comedy series (won for music) and often featured pilots that had been turned down by the networks. Some would later be picked up after airing on Love American Style; two such shows were Happy Days and Wait til Your Father Gets Home. The original theme song was performed by the Cowsills, here is their live version years later. As a kid, I actually hoped my dating life might be fun and humorous like the show, no such luck.
posted by CameraObscura at 11:53 AM PST - 49 comments

The only recipe for boiling salted water you'll ever need. Well, the reviews are entertaining, anyway.
posted by dersins at 11:45 AM PST - 57 comments

Pennsylvania polling places regarding September 08 elections to have everything but voters.
posted by duende at 11:30 AM PST - 31 comments

One whose "putrid-smelling blossom attracts herds of carrion beetles" and seven more similar charmers. Some fearsome vegetables. A very lovely "previously." (From Taz, circa 2003.) Some plants that've been given new, animated features and a soundtrack. And finally, this: it has to be the most annoying website in history, but it presents some very nifty ideas for vegetable-based costuming you might be able to use for Halloween, plus Richard Simmons is featured. Click on "fashion" for the lettuce gowns, tomato hats and just all kinda fabulous Carmen Mirandesque madness.
posted by Don Pepino at 11:25 AM PST - 4 comments

Student creates mock iPod ad. Apple comes a knocking. Ends happily this Sunday
posted by jaimev at 11:23 AM PST - 40 comments

FEMA Press conference regarding the California fires has everything but reporters.
posted by landis at 10:33 AM PST - 46 comments

Jazz on the Screen "This searchable filmography documents the work of some 1,000 major jazz and blues figures in over 14,000 cinema, television and video productions."
posted by sciurus at 10:09 AM PST - 8 comments

The Internet Hype Machine Bubble. Idolator has an introspective on the boom and bust cycle of the online indie music scene, focusing on the band Black Kids, who with only one EP under their belt, are already being hyped to an extreme extent. With the conversation taking prominence over the music itself, are we seeing the dark side of the Cluetrain? [more inside]
posted by zabuni at 9:48 AM PST - 29 comments

Halloween Subway Where? Korea, of course!
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:48 AM PST - 20 comments

Sibling rivalry. Meet Edward Mapplethorpe, photographer. Yes, he's related to the other one. They're brothers -- which has actually made things harder for Edward than you might think. In his latest show, just wrapping up at NYC's Foley Gallery, Edward does amazing work using darkroom techniques alone: "The exhibition is composed of unique works solely created in the darkroom without the use of traditional cameras." (This one is my fave from the current show; of his earlier work, I particularly like this one and this one [nsfw].)
posted by GrammarMoses at 6:31 AM PST - 30 comments

[Patent Lawsuit Filter] On Wednesday Sun Microsystems announced a counter suit against Network Appliance, wherein they will draw on their "defensive portfolio" which is "one of the largest patent arsenals on the internet". They are going to be requesting a permanent injunction to remove all of NetApp's filer products from the marketplace, and also seeking monetary damages (half of which they've pledged to donate to the Software Freedom Law Center and Peer to Patent Project). Last month, NetApp sued Sun for patent infringements in ZFS. Earlier this month in Texas, the first ever patent infringement lawsuit against Linux distributors was filed. [more inside]
posted by finite at 5:26 AM PST - 36 comments

Supra-terranean Homesick Blues: Somewhere up there in the clouds, there exists a town called Shillong (wiki), a quaint picturesque town that is often called India's rock-capital. Every year, they celebrate Bob Dylan's birthday with a big bash, a splash that evokes nostalgia, piety, devotion and hard cash. This year though, they'll celebrate Bob Dylan with an even bigger bash, the world's largest strumming session. [more inside]
posted by the cydonian at 2:00 AM PST - 21 comments

"It means more to me to be on the cover of Model Railroader than to be on the cover of Rolling Stone." Rod Stewart has spent 12 years, and thousands of dollars, working on his model train hobby. Via. [more inside]
posted by amyms at 12:24 AM PST - 72 comments