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A yacht crew witnessed the birth of a new island and other strange consequences of volcanic activity in Tonga, and here are pictures they took.
posted by thirteenkiller at 9:52 PM PST - 45 comments

Quad [flash] It's like Tetris without gravity. Rows erase vertically as well as horizontally, and what's left moves towards the center instead of down. [via The Ultimate Insult]
posted by mediareport at 9:30 PM PST - 26 comments

A PORTION OF THIS TRANSCRIPT HAS BEEN REMOVED Not only did CNN edit out a portion of the Larry King Live show from last night for the west coast and later showings, they also edited their transcripts and have sent DMCA takedown notices for the copies on youtube. What was so controversial? Just Bill Maher claiming that Ken Mehlman is gay, something Mehlman neither confirms nor denies.
posted by delmoi at 9:26 PM PST - 117 comments

On Nov. 6, 1869, Rutgers beat Princeton in the first ever college football game. 137 years later, almost to the day, Rutgers has added another standout achievement to their football history by beating #3 Louisville 28-25. Now, perhaps, the comments about a weakened Big East will stop. Me, I'm just wondering how big the headline in the Daily Targum will be.
posted by booksherpa at 8:51 PM PST - 48 comments

The Dull Men's Club
Warning: This web site contains no violence or scary scenes.
posted by fenriq at 8:34 PM PST - 22 comments

The Heart Attack Grill proclaims itself to be the "Home of the Double Bypass Burger". Its motto is "Taste worth dying for!" Its waitresses wear "naughty nurse" costumes. It's pretty clear they're trying to compete with Hooters, and who can say? They might succeed. But not if the Center for Nursing Advocacy has anything to say about it. The Center claims that 54% of British men have sexual fantasies about nurses, and therefore a restaurant in Tempe, Arizona is a threat to the nursing profession, which could lead to "killing thousands if not millions" around the world.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 7:26 PM PST - 85 comments

"Bush should then set out to track and kill a black bear, after which he should eat its still beating heart so he can absorb its spirit." The National Review Online's Jonah Goldberg (previously, previously) channels Stephen Colbert [youtube], or maybe he's found Hunter Thompson's lost stash. (Do we await the seminal God and Bear at Yale?)
posted by orthogonality at 6:51 PM PST - 49 comments

Finding Species is an organization that integrates science, photography, and design to create standardized methods of photo-documenting plants and animals, for use in print and web field guides, educational exhibits, and conservation campaigns.
posted by owhydididoit at 6:12 PM PST - 2 comments

reclaimyourcity.net is somewhat similar to this previously posted site. reclaim offers refuge on the web for those among us in love with street art.
posted by localhuman at 6:00 PM PST - 13 comments

The Health Care Crisis and What to Do About It. Is it time to socialize medicine in the US?
posted by homunculus at 3:51 PM PST - 128 comments

A Photosynth Tech Preview has been released from Microsoft Live Labs & University of Washington. While we discussed this project at length earlier this summer, it's now a public ( well, Win/IE only ) prototype with sample datasets, if you'd like to see it for yourself. Technical details for those interested.
posted by arialblack at 3:13 PM PST - 28 comments

Steve McQueen, Steve McQueen, The coolest doggone motherscratcher on the silver screen. On November 11th, you'll have your chance to be as cool as Steve McQueen ever was. Of course, you'll be needing of one of his motorcycles to achieve said coolness.
posted by NoMich at 2:00 PM PST - 26 comments

In Long Beach, CA on Halloween, some twenty-five young men surrounded and attacked three women on the street while yelling racial epithets. The women were hospitalized with "severe injuries." This is not a hate crime. Nor is it newsworthy?
posted by Methylviolet at 1:30 PM PST - 83 comments

Why, God, Why? We've never seen a holiday cash-in too bizarre to love. This season, please to enjoy A Very Idol Christmas.
posted by EatTheWeek at 11:47 AM PST - 38 comments

One of only ten poems published during Emily Dickinson's lifetime, the poem beginning "Safe in their Alabaster Chambers" continues to be reproduced in conflicting versions. Emily Dickinson Writing a Poem lets us leaf through images of Dickinson's original manuscripts and correspondences concerning the poem. According to the site, this documents surrounding this poem offer "the only example of Emily Dickinson responding directly to another reader's advice." At one point, Dickinson apparently struggled to decide between at least three alternatives of the much-contested second verse. Also included is a history of the poem's early printings, providing an opportunity to note how many publications have ignored Dickinson's idiosyncratic punctuation.
posted by treepour at 11:44 AM PST - 14 comments

"That's about $1 million off list price and the lowest we could find for such a jet." "Starting at 1 pm ET today, Sam's Club offers its members the Cessna Citation Mustang Light Jet for $2,734,600. Plus, you'll also get a Sam's Club Lifetime Membership with this purchase. " - from DealNews.com
posted by Tubes at 9:54 AM PST - 39 comments

Ed Bradley has passed away. We are seriously mourning his loss at NPR. He was the ultimate professional, sharp as a nail, and a damn good friend.
posted by bluedaniel at 9:51 AM PST - 82 comments

Slashdot runs out of comments
posted by forwebsites at 9:48 AM PST - 74 comments

A new documentary on the Jonestown Massacre (YouTube) raises a few key questions about The People's Temple and mass suicide; yet the most pertinent quandary at the moment (posed by New York Magazine) has little to do with tainted Kool-Aid and instead focuses on an unfortunately named rapper from Harlem. This week, it's Jim Jones versus Jim Jones.
posted by dead_ at 9:45 AM PST - 22 comments

That sure didn't take long. 2 days after the mid-term elections, Tom Vilsack announces he is running for president. And he's a video-blogger. Inspired by Amanda?
posted by cjoh at 9:29 AM PST - 14 comments

"Is this annoying? Is this annoying? Is this annoying?" 248 ways to annoy people. via digg
posted by four panels at 9:09 AM PST - 71 comments

Last Sunday was the 5th November. Often called Bonfire Night in the UK. That's the evening Brits build a bonfire and set off fireworks. Why? To celebrate the foilng of the dastardly Gun Powder Plot of 1605. Some people also drink alcohol. Maybe this soldier did before he launched a firework from his bottom. He's not well. A nomination for Darwin for 2006? Anyone got any other nominations for aforesaid award?
posted by Mister Bijou at 9:01 AM PST - 36 comments

At a certain age, young people get seemingly uncontrollable urges. But, in accordance with God's plan, these urges must be controlled.
posted by punkfloyd at 8:28 AM PST - 27 comments

De Architectura, known also as The Ten Books of Architecture, is an exposition on architecture by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio. Originally in Latin, here it is translated into English.
posted by nthdegx at 8:25 AM PST - 15 comments

Tidying up is not an art. Tidying Up Art - that's another matter altogether. Be it Niki de St.Phalle, Matisse, van Gogh, Kandinsky, or Meret Oppenheim, Magritte or others - Swiss author Ursus Wehrli's services are accurate and reliable.
posted by progosk at 7:53 AM PST - 3 comments

Quantum Encryption Scientists have created an unbreakable cypher through the use of quantum physics, where a photon is observed and used as the basis for an encryption key. "Uncertainty is the principle we exploit. It's impossible to find the key, because the photon can be measured once and only once. An eavesdropper can't measure it, and so can't get the key." Props to Heisenberg!
posted by PreacherTom at 7:25 AM PST - 49 comments

Moon flatulence...amateur astronomers have seen puffs or flashes of light coming from the moon's surface. Although most professional observers have upheld the conclusion that the moon was inactive, such sightings have kept open a window of doubt. A gas release itself would not be visible for more than a second or so, but the dust it kicked up might stay suspended for up to 30 seconds. Nature article (subscription).
posted by 445supermag at 7:24 AM PST - 9 comments

A poll that the GOP is actually winning Reagan?! What is happening to The Atlantic?
posted by papoon at 5:56 AM PST - 85 comments

Dear Fellow Flesh Slugs,
     The robots are coming, and they are hungry. This man may have helped them. Prepare yourself.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:48 AM PST - 17 comments

"Punk rock today is like Happy Days or Civil War re-enactment.” LA Weekly is sponsoring "14 and Shooting," an exhibit of west coast punk photos taken by Jennifer Finch, former bassist for L7.
posted by bardic at 2:25 AM PST - 29 comments

The music video for the song "Heart Made of Sound" (YouTube) by the California band Softlightes is remarkably captivating; every word of the lyrics is a unique stop motion animation of household (as well as less common) objects laid out to form the word. Direct QT download here. Via
posted by jonson at 12:10 AM PST - 6 comments