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Pentasyllabic is. Edible is not. Some words refer to themselves, some do not - an introduction to the paradox of language and a way to amaze your easily-amazed friends. In a similar vein, you may already test yourself by using e-prime, but do you know the thirty-two eskimo words for snow?
posted by blahblahblah at 8:11 PM PST - 98 comments

Does relativity have any practical significance? In fact, relativity had to be taken into account by the designers of the Global Positioning System. The GPS satellites are affected both by special relativity (since the satellites are moving, clocks aboard them appear to run slower as seen from the ground), and by general relativity (since the satellites are farther away from the mass of the earth, clocks appear to run faster as seen from the ground). The net effect of both is that clocks aboard GPS satellites would gain 38 microseconds per day relative to the ground, if relativistic effects were not corrected for--a figure which can be confirmed by using Google calculator.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:33 PM PST - 26 comments

Sacred Sites. Martin Gray is an anthropologist and photographer specializing in the study of sacred sites and pilgrimage traditions around the world. Traveling as a pilgrim, Martin spent twenty years, visiting and photographing over 1000 sacred sites in eighty countries. 1000s of photos, Atlas of Sacred Sites, travel journal, etc..
posted by stbalbach at 7:24 PM PST - 19 comments

Selkie Goes to the Airport "This morning, I arrived at the airport with an hour to make my flight. I kissed my fiancee, wiped off the tears, and queued up for the TSA checkpoint with my laptop out, my shoes off and my identification in my hand. There were three people in front of me; I had plenty of time." It goes down hill from there.
posted by FunkyHelix at 7:19 PM PST - 99 comments

The Meaning of Life Project is an attempt to get stories from everyday folks answering the question "what is the meaning of life?" for an eventual book. You only have until Friday to submit your own thoughts here, though I hope for the book's sake they have a blanket ban on mentions of puppy dogs, unicorns, and teddy bears.
posted by mathowie at 7:18 PM PST - 20 comments

Bored at work ?, pick a shape/year and put that printer at work to good use and make your boss a 12 sided calendar.
posted by meowchow at 6:07 PM PST - 16 comments

The Iraq problem solved. George Saunders has got it all figured out. (from the New Yorker natch.)
posted by lilboo at 5:33 PM PST - 34 comments

Here is the story of Hsuan Tsang / A Buddhist monk, he went from Xian to southern India / And back--on horseback, on camel-back, on elephant-back, and on foot. / Ten thousand miles... / Mountains and deserts, / In search of the Truth...
Traversing rivers and deserts, scaling mountains and passing through desolate lands with no traces of human habitation, 7th century Chinese monk Hsuan Tsang made his journey in 627 AD from Changan to India for religious purposes. His detailed travel journal is believed to be among the earliest reliable sources of information about distant countries whose terrain and customs had been known, at that time, in only the sketchiest way. He travelled over land mostly on foot and horseback along the Silk Road, west towards India. The Buddhist scholar’s pilgrimage (627-645 AD) contributed enormously to the cultural flow between East and West Asia. His "Hsi Yu Ki" or "Records of the Western World" is considered the most valuable book source for the study of ancient Indian history and culture. Italian explorer Marco Polo, whose travel writings fired the imagination of Europeans for centuries, was believed to have used Hsuan Tsang’s travelogue as a guide during his travels in the 13th century. More than 1,300 years after Hsuan Tsang’s historical journey, Taiwanese magazine Rhythms Monthly embarked on a project to retrace Hsuan Tsang’s 19-year pilgrimage through a road that, today, belongs to 11 different countries. more inside
posted by matteo at 5:20 PM PST - 20 comments

Bridges TV was launched today and plans to "celebrate the American Muslim lifestyle and culture". Unlike satelite channels Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, Bridges TV plans to focus on English-speaking American Muslim youth rather than their parents. So what kind of cheesy programming can you look forward to? "One show features a Muslim newspaper reporter named Jinnah who solves whodunits. A soap opera explores the melodrama of a Muslim father confronted with his daughter's desire to marry a non-Muslim." It should be noted that Al Jazeera plans to launch an English-language channel in 2005.
posted by exhilaration at 5:19 PM PST - 4 comments

SteamWatch: Observing Our Benefactors Since 2004 - "Who has control over the games I bought? It used to be me. Now it is 'Steam.'" Justifiable implementation of digital rights management or complete insanity? Anyone had any problems yet? (11/18 Half-Life 2 thread.) More on XrML, including Karen Coyle's excellent survey.
posted by mrgrimm at 4:46 PM PST - 40 comments

The Zoom Quilt (uses flash)
posted by criticalbill at 3:28 PM PST - 20 comments

Meet The Duggars! ?Michelle and Jim Bob have had 15 children in 16 years all with first names that start with the letter “J”. Recently they had their own 1 hour reality TV show called: 14 Children and Pregnant Again. They belong to the Full Quiver movement which states that you should receive as many children as God blesses you with. The women dress Little House on the Prairie fashion and refer to themselves as Prairie Muffins. The men get to dress normally. This is what the White Supremists think of them and this is what other Christians think of them.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:22 PM PST - 140 comments

The Anti-Booty Call Cell Phone
Because good judgment, heavy intoxication and raging libidos rarely go hand in hand, a new phone from Virgin will allow you to selectively "turn off" phone numbers you might be likely to dial while in a drunken and horny stupor. Thus saving you the embarrassment of calling your ex and instead sending you over to her place because you think her phone's busted.

On second thought, maybe this phone isn't such a great idea.
posted by fenriq at 2:43 PM PST - 22 comments

Seventh Bush cabinet member to resign since Election Day. (National threat level remains at yellow.) Of course, the best part about being the second Secretary of Homeland Security is, the only person they can compare you to is Tom Ridge. Meanwhile, any picks for the next security czar?
posted by jellybuzz at 2:38 PM PST - 31 comments

Apartheid Dies Second Death A South African court has declared marriage discrimination to be unconstitutional, and has registered the union of Marie Fourie and Cecelia Bonthuys. Henceforth, marriage in South Africa will be defined as "the union of two persons to the exclusion of all others for life."
posted by expriest at 2:35 PM PST - 37 comments

The best web mag you've never heard of. This is a truly GREAT collection of essays, written by a bunch of famous and not-so-famous folks. Updated twice a month. You will not get any work done today. One of those "bookmark immediately" sites!
posted by braun_richard at 2:11 PM PST - 9 comments

"Libraries are rich, deep, resources for preserving cultural heritage and indispensable resources for the communities they serve.” OCLC, a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization, has compiled a list of the top 1000 titles owned or licensed by its 50,000+ member libraries. There are sublists by subject, a cross listing with a banned books list, and some fun facts, including the supremely annoying one that the highest listed living author is Jim Davis of Garfield fame (#18).
posted by donnagirl at 1:31 PM PST - 16 comments

...when Jesus appears in your texture maps.
Ok, this is old news (been there since 1996), but from my own game programmer point of view, this site is hilarious, in a bittersweet way.
It's been down for a while, only available through the wayback machine, but recently got online again.
It might even be informative for all nerdy mefis, since latest news prove games programming stay as a modern slavery icon.
Might be NSFW if you're working on 'in trouble' game project.
posted by denpo at 12:47 PM PST - 11 comments

The 20 X 20 Expedition is an experiment in photo format showing you what's great about ordering a 20 patty cheeseburger (with 20 pieces of cheese) at The In and Out Burger. Not exaclty pleasant (so you were warned). Bon appetit!
posted by E_B_A at 12:45 PM PST - 31 comments

"The MP3 Experiment is the world’s first live theatrical performance that audiences will experience exclusively through headphones. There are no actors. There is no host. Audience members will download an mp3 track from the show’s website in advance, load it onto their portable players, and bring it with them to the show. The lights go down, a video projection cues the audience to press play on their mp3 players simultaneously, and the show begins. The mp3 track is an intricate mix of music and instructions from an unknown voice." Produced by Improv Everywhere, also mentioned here.
posted by turbodog at 12:20 PM PST - 29 comments

After a three-year absence and $108 million in renovations, Europe's premier grand dame of opera houses, Milan's Teatro alla Scala, will reopen on December 7, 2004. The honor of the opening night opera has been delegated to Antonio Salieri through his obscure opera-ballet Europa Riconosciuta, which is the very same opera that inaugurated La Scala's first season in 1778, and has not been performed in 226 years.
posted by naxosaxur at 10:32 AM PST - 17 comments

McRorie - One man band from the future
posted by mr.marx at 10:24 AM PST - 24 comments

Religion in Star Trek. In which Ex Astris Scientia (a deliciously extensive Trek fan site, by the way) explores the future of faith and religion as depicted by each generation of the Trek universe, with elucidation on Gene Roddenberry's own antireligous view of faith and science via Daystrom Institute Tech Library (another lovely fan site).
posted by brownpau at 10:01 AM PST - 27 comments

All-Ages Kirk/Spock Gay Romantic Art Archive. It's a PG-13 romance as old as the Internet itself. Kirk and Spock, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G (mostly SFW)
posted by Robot Johnny at 9:14 AM PST - 20 comments

Giant Jesus stops traffic in Ohio. Church officials say their King of Kings statue is the largest in America, but the folks in Eureka Springs, Arkansas might have something to say about that. Their seven-story Jesus weighs in at over two million pounds.
posted by Otis at 8:59 AM PST - 60 comments

Beer Frame and Dishwasher and Murder Can Be Fun. My top 3 Zines of all time (here's a list of more). There was a used record/comics store near where I worked. They had lots of Zines and I would frequent them just to see if new issues were in. Weeks of waiting were sometimes rewarded with a new issue. Almost always worth the wait. Anyone have a favorite? Any good Zines around anymore? [more inside]
posted by e40 at 8:45 AM PST - 37 comments

Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo   The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion "tantamount to torture" on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The finding that the handling of prisoners detained and interrogated at Guantánamo amounted to torture came after a visit by a Red Cross inspection team that spent most of last June in Guantánamo. The team of humanitarian workers, which included experienced medical personnel, also asserted that some doctors and other medical workers at Guantánamo were participating in planning for interrogations, in what the report called "a flagrant violation of medical ethics." Doctors and medical personnel conveyed information about prisoners' mental health and vulnerabilities to interrogators, the report said, sometimes directly, but usually through a group called the Behavioral Science Consultation Team, or B.S.C.T. The team, known informally as Biscuit, is composed of psychologists and psychological workers who advise the interrogators, the report said. From the Red Cross : The ICRC's work at Guantanamo Bay  -  Related: From Association of the Bar of the City of New York, a pdf: Torture by Proxy: International and Domestic Law Applicable to Extraordinary Renditions-- Representative Edward J.] Markey pledges battle on rendition practice
posted by y2karl at 7:50 AM PST - 85 comments

abandonia.com... home to abandoned DOS games, for discussion and download.
posted by crunchland at 7:45 AM PST - 40 comments

Sacco and Vanzetti et al. The amazing Famous Trials website, compiled as a labor of love by University of Missouri law professor Douglas Linder, is a motherlode of information on historically significant trails, ranging from Galileo to the Amistad to Lenny Bruce. It features not only official transcripts, but also equally intriguing details such as a map of the railroad cars in the Scottsboro Boys trial, Klan documents from the Mississippi Burning case, and opinion polls related to the My Lai courts martial.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 6:57 AM PST - 8 comments

It appears to be so simple, but as Fred Astaire once said "they'll never know how hard I work to let the strings show."
Kirsten Ulve started out as a Graphic Designer and later turned to Illustration. You've seen her work on things like Uno Cards, Nick at Night and TV Land. She is a master at caricatures and even has a freaky cool gallery to view as well.
posted by Hands of Manos at 6:55 AM PST - 21 comments

At least you know they're not lip-synching.
posted by greatgefilte at 5:48 AM PST - 16 comments

Sick of Charity Records? You know it's for a good cause, you want to help, but god, don't charity records stink? Well, here's the answer. Buy the record whilst maintaining some (musical) dignity.
posted by qwerty155 at 4:18 AM PST - 10 comments

I just found my new outgoing answering machine message at Tape Findings. {first link is mp3. via News Today}
posted by dobbs at 12:53 AM PST - 28 comments

Gnod's new music-map is a big improvement over the old UI. Looks like gnod was listening two years ago. The new UI still isn't as pretty as musicplasma's Flash design, or convey as much information, but it's pretty nifty to see the band names jitterbug around as mountains of historical user preference data is correlated. Anyway, I'm more interested in which site has better data. I'd guess the old gnoosic UI is being retired, as there's not even a link to the new URL there.
posted by JParker at 12:52 AM PST - 10 comments

Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest has been extended. The leader of Burma's democracy movement and a Nobel laureate, Suu Kyi was arrested a year and a half ago after her motorcade was attacked. Many prisoners in Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar) were recently released, but this is widely seen as a political ploy. [More inside]
posted by homunculus at 12:36 AM PST - 7 comments