November 18, 2004

Alexander inherited the idea of an invasion of the Persian Empire from his father

"We will come and kill you in your beds, cut your throats, and wipe you from the face of the earth... if Alexander the Great were alive today he would grind you gypsy dogs into the dust, dig your dead from their graves". Since Oliver Stone chose to make his first foray into historical epics with a biopic of Alexander (based on the biography by the Oxford academic Robin Lane Fox), rivers of blood have been spilt -- figuratively at least -- in a propaganda battle between Greek and Macedonian nationalists over who has the right to claim the all-conquering hero as their own. The movie also deals with Alexander's omnivorous sexuality, in particular his fondness for eunuchs. With such treacherous ground to negotiate, and amid thunderous lobbying from both sides, Stone has chosen a middle course (like giving Alexander and the men of the Macedonian phalanxes Irish accents, while the Greeks speak clipped English RP).
posted by matteo at 7:20 PM PST - 41 comments

High-definition pornography is right around the corner.

The Gigapxl Project has found a far less tedious method of producing stunning, ultra-high-definition images (up to 4,000 megapixels!) using specialized large-format equipment. (Another amazing image using multiple exposures can be found here.)
posted by neckro23 at 4:46 PM PST - 34 comments

beyond lyrics

Song meanings is a site where you can read the lyrics to a song and then post your thoughts on what the song means.
posted by bargle at 4:41 PM PST - 57 comments

DHS: putting detainees in homeless shelters

"The principle issue is the federal government's total disregard of local government," said Gerald Cayer, director of Portland's Department of Health and Human Services. "It's the Department of Homeland Security not appreciating other levels of government as they go through their work." The feds take 5 Honduran nationals from a jail in Bangor, Maine, where they've been held since Sept. 27, and without any notice to local health or law enforcement officials, drop the men off this week at a homeless shelter 2 hours south in Portland. When he asked whether the city would be reimbursed by the federal government for providing services to the men, Cayer said, he was told that the department did not have the money for that.
posted by damn yankee at 3:03 PM PST - 15 comments

just in time for thanksgiving!

Cooking with Cum. It's been a long time since I've been to a site that rendered me (almost) speechless.
posted by adampsyche at 2:36 PM PST - 129 comments

Did Lightning Strike Twice in Florida?

Florida is the New Florida Although many discussions of voting anomalies focused on Ohio, a statistical analysis of Florida voting patterns performed by sociologists at University of California, Berkeley suggests that electronic touch screen voting in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade may have credited George Bush with up to 260,000 extra votes in Florida. The discrepancy is not enough to change who won Florida, but it could have narrowed Bush's lead to 90,000 votes instead of 350,000, highlighting the need for better auditing of elections with electronic voting.
posted by jonp72 at 2:35 PM PST - 33 comments

The Scrawls of War

The Scrawls of War. London graffiti artist Arofish takes a tour of Baghdad and Palestine and leaves his mark behind. The tales he has for each picture are quite interesting as well.
posted by Ufez Jones at 1:13 PM PST - 13 comments

Gooooooal!

Andrés "I live, breathe, and sweat soccer" Cantor, a prominent sportscaster at Telemundo, is now marketing his famous "GOOOAL!" as a downloadable ring tone for mobile phones. ("Soccer is a passion that can't be described in words, and when I scream 'GOOOAL!', I know that the joy I feel at that moment is shared by millions around the world. Now everyone will be able to carry that moment of joy with them everywhere they go.")
posted by naxosaxur at 1:00 PM PST - 23 comments

Currency Events

Will Currency Wars Effect You? Oldman gives a quick run-through of the geopolitics of America's budget deficit, with some likely scenarios for the next 2-5 years.
posted by alms at 12:32 PM PST - 26 comments

Gaming girlz

The Frag Dolls "represent the ladies in gaming with the taste and talent for beating you at your own games. So, for all you guys who think the only gals in gaming are the leather-clad, pixilated beauties on your screens, think again. We're real, and we've got the skills to teach you a few tricks of our own." They're also sponsored by UbiSoft. Dismantling stereotypes or reinforcing them? (via Annalee Newitz, and a nice counterpart to this thread)
posted by mrgrimm at 12:31 PM PST - 52 comments

The RCA Secret Challenge

Want to buy an original David Hockney for only £35? Does Damien Hirst better suit your tastes? Make a visit to the Royal College of Art Secret Challenge sometime between November 19th and 25th to see if you have the eye for it!
posted by ScottUltra at 11:36 AM PST - 5 comments

On Why We Lie - The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind by David Livingstone Smith

How often does the average person lie? First, it's important to point out that lying is normal, and more often spontaneous and unconscious than cynical and coldly analytical. Our minds and bodies secrete deceit. That said, Robert Feldman, a psychologist at the University of Massachusetts, suggests that there are three lies for every ten minutes of conversation. I think that's plausible. And bear in mind that his research measured only the frequency of narrow, explicit, verbal lying. The real rate of deception, which includes our movements and expressions, must be considerably higher.

Questioning Authority - David Livingstone Smith, author of Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind, is a liar. And he explains why you are too. ( More Inside )
posted by y2karl at 11:35 AM PST - 13 comments

RU-ready for the next 4 years?

Congress plans to reintroduce RU-486 suspension. After only three deaths in an estimated 360,000 uses, the GOP-led Congress plans to reintroduce a bill to "temporarily suspend" sales of RU-486 so it can be more thoroughly investigated. With a maternal death rate in the US of 12 per 100,000, RU-486 is about 13-14 times safer than a full term pregancy. Of course, the solution is simple: suspend all pregnancies for a year so we can more fully evaluate their safety.
posted by u.n. owen at 11:32 AM PST - 119 comments

The Cantigas de Santa Maria

'The Cantigas de Santa Maria medieval-era manuscripts were written during the reign of Alfonso X "El Sabio" (1221-1284) and are one of the largest collections of monophonic (solo) songs from the middle ages ... ' Images.
posted by plep at 11:02 AM PST - 6 comments

because next to maps, we love rules

The Complete Rules to Calling Shotgun. and the subsequent amendments.
posted by tsarfan at 10:51 AM PST - 37 comments

The Return of Hobbes

A little dated, but too good to pass up. Deconstructing Fight Club, Watterson-style.
posted by cohappy at 10:47 AM PST - 19 comments

HELLO N00BS

I find Paris's Radio ABF the perfect background noise, with an optional 256kb/s stream. It's electronica.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 9:49 AM PST - 22 comments

The Ultimate Geek Auction

A tour with WotC, a session to play D&D with them. Lifetime subscription to Steam. Ok, some items are better than others. But for Child's Play, the folks at PA are pulling one heckuva dream auction for geeks. More auction items are detailed, go to the the second news post.
posted by eurasian at 9:10 AM PST - 6 comments

We don't need no pancakes!

The American Film Institute, striving ever harder for relevancy, announces their latest movie list: 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes, to be shown in June. Here's the list of 400 nominees [PDF]. What was unjustly left out? Let the debates begin!
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:12 AM PST - 88 comments

Google scholarly literature search

Stand on the shoulders of giants. Google Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research.
posted by fvw at 6:23 AM PST - 49 comments

CaliFilter

AmendforArnold&Jen
Founded by a libertarian-turned RINO and a member of the Green Party
posted by magullo at 6:07 AM PST - 63 comments

It depends on what's important to you!

The European Union is the world's largest superpower: of course, militarily the US is still dominates, but this article (Salon day pass required) argues that in terms of economy, personal freedom, the welfare of its citizens and human rights the EU is far and away number one. Via DailyKos.
posted by sic at 5:39 AM PST - 85 comments

2004 Captured in Song

Underwear Goes Inside The Pants (video) is a nice little ditty about the condition of the world in 2004.
posted by debralee at 4:43 AM PST - 25 comments

THE ARRIVAL OF SECRET LAW

The arrival of secret law. Americans can now be obligated to comply with legally-binding regulations that are unknown to them, and that indeed they are forbidden to know. This is not some dismal Eastern European allegory. It is part of a continuing transformation of American government that is leaving it less open, less accountable and less susceptible to rational deliberation as a vehicle for change.
posted by acrobat at 3:45 AM PST - 38 comments

Not the Boreworms!!!

An interview with Michael Koubi. Koubi was an interrogator with the Israeli security services for 21 years, and its chief interrogator for 6 years. He claims he can make anyone talk.
posted by biffa at 3:28 AM PST - 31 comments

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