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Remember the days when parents only used to be worried about the backwards messages in songs? Feeling nostalgic for a song with a little backmasking? backmaskonline.com. While few today buy-into the idea that backmasked lyrics have any affect on the subconscious (and vinyl LPs that can be played backwards are few and far between) some artists persist. What are your personal backmasking favorites? What was the appeal for you?
posted by spock at 9:56 PM PST - 33 comments

Ultra-Murder Death Squad is the insane artwork of Tim Biskup & Andrew Brandou. Combining cute animals & weird creatures with guns, bombs, native americans.
posted by Dreamghost at 9:27 PM PST - 7 comments

Internet Clocks, Counters and Countdowns
posted by Cryptical Envelopment at 8:27 PM PST - 15 comments

Apologies not accepted. In response to Sorry Everybody.com.
posted by fleener at 6:26 PM PST - 75 comments

WE ARE INDEED IMPRESSED BY THE TREE. IS IT OAK.
One human, four dogs, and hilarity.
posted by scrim at 6:25 PM PST - 20 comments

In sworn affidavit, programmer says he developed vote-rigging prototype for Florida congressman; Congressman’s office silent - Will this go the way of the Wayne Madsen report? Perhaps this is, as some have noted, just another Rovian Hit. At this point in time, I keep my tinfoil hat ready. Even if it were true, I doubt the Republican-majority-ed House and Senate are can hardly be expected to investigate themselves. For now, I just keep laughing at HERCUBUSH (Quicktime) (Real) and trying to convince myself that we are all in Bush now.
posted by jackspace at 6:10 PM PST - 35 comments

Democratic Transhumanism 2.0. A treatise by James Hughes, author of Citizen Cyborg. [Via WorldChanging.]
posted by homunculus at 5:18 PM PST - 8 comments

Math + test = trouble for US economy For a nation committed to preparing students for 21st century jobs, the results of the first-of-its-kind study of how well teenagers can apply math skills to real-life problems is sobering. American 15-year-olds rank well below those in most other industrialized countries in mathematics literacy and problem solving, according to a survey released Monday
posted by Postroad at 5:02 PM PST - 86 comments

Coming soon, the Creation Museum. Tired of those pesky evolutionists getting all the natural history museums? Want to see dinosaurs threatening Adam or entering the ark? Then hie yourself to Petersburg, Kentucky, where what is billing itself as "the world's most unusual museum" will soon be opening its doors. "Uneasy answering questions about radiocarbon dating? Rock layers? Natural selection? Do you want to believe in six literal days, but you’re still confused about the big bang or Grand Canyon? You’ll find answers here!" Some background on founder Ken Ham and his theory that dinosaurs are "missionary lizards" who draw young minds to evolution and must be reclaimed.
posted by CunningLinguist at 5:02 PM PST - 60 comments

Woman charged with running down boys who hit SUV with golf ball. Her family said this is completely unlike her, yet she told the judge this morning, "I'm mentally ill." Well, obviously, but does that mean she isn't accountable for three counts of attempted murder?
posted by Miss Beth at 4:48 PM PST - 36 comments

Photo-Blocker - For those who are tired of obeying basic traffic laws. (via)
posted by buriednexttoyou at 4:46 PM PST - 29 comments

Retrocrush: Red Hot Trailer Brochure Model Fan Fiction. (via bb)
posted by moonbird at 4:13 PM PST - 8 comments

Seinfeld Dictionary Head-First Parker - 1) a person who tries to pull into a parking space head first as opposed to backing into the space 2) a person who pulls into a parking space head first with the intention of screwing someone else out of the space
posted by BradNelson at 3:53 PM PST - 29 comments

The Museum of Temporary Art. "The museum itself is located in my home. It is about 40x50 cm big and has 33 compartments. This website is a representation of what is currently in the museum, i.e. the compartments."
posted by me3dia at 3:21 PM PST - 3 comments

"For 500 generations they flourished until newcomers came... much was lost; much was devalued, but much was also hidden away in the hearts of the dispossessed." Much that is now available in image and in writing at the University of Washington's "American Indians of the Pacific Northwest" Collection.
posted by jeffmshaw at 1:41 PM PST - 5 comments

Mother of the Matrix? What if everything we experience is actually being delivered to our catatonic bodies by superintelligent robots? On a more practical note, what if the Wachowski brothers ripped off the ideas for their high-grossing trilogy from an unknown screenwriter who claims to have submitted it in response to a 1981 ad the brothers placed "requesting new sci-fi works?" (registration required, but it will deliver the goods while saving you the pain of parsing intentional spelling errors in "Da Ghetto Tymz"). Does the fact that the author claiming infringement is a black woman change the character of this story? It does seem like, considering where the case has gone, that it would be considered news. Just how long is the arm of Time/Warner/AOL/Skynet? In other stories, how many times will The Terminator be sued? (via PennyArcade)
posted by nanojath at 1:18 PM PST - 70 comments

Does this just happen in the UK? No, apparently in the US as well. It's that time of year, when good cheer gives way to bad judgment. Perhaps we all need a lesson in etiquette, perhaps we need a date. The W network seems to suggest that you shouldn't get it on with either the booze or your coworkers. Finally, New York Magazine offers advice for Scared Sick Day. What's your damage?
posted by OmieWise at 1:01 PM PST - 3 comments

Soldiers Challenge Enlistment Extensions
You sign a contract for a specific period of service, when that service is up you're supposed to be done but that doesn't happen if its a contract with the US government. Soldiers are now suing to try and get out of their extended duties.

Yes, there is the Pentagon's "Stop Loss" program but "The lawsuit contends the policy [stop loss] is a breach of the service contract because it extends the length of service without a soldier's consent. It also alleges the contracts were misleading because they make no reference to the policy, said Staughton Lynd, an attorney for the soldiers."
posted by fenriq at 12:28 PM PST - 41 comments

Yes, I am a pathetic geek. And yes, this homemade LOTR version of Monopoly rocks. Much more beautiful than the Hasbro product (which I bet doesn't include a shortcut through Shelob's Lair). Too bad there doesn't seem to be much of a homemade movement happening. Or is there? Little brothers everywhere need somethng cooler than a dumbed-down Shrek 2 edition. [via kottke]
posted by scarabic at 11:03 AM PST - 14 comments

If you had to pick your 5 Favorite web sites......what would they be? Yeah, it's the end of the year and we're all list-happy! Professor Barnhardt's Journal asked writers like Joel Stein, Dan Radosh and Rob Walker and bloggers what their favorite sites are. Sadly, not one mention of Metafilter!
posted by braun_richard at 10:50 AM PST - 23 comments

Remember the threads last week about R/C planes with digital cameras? Rank amateurs. Animal Planet has upped the stakes in the unmanned aerial vehicle race by strapping a video camera to an eagle. That's right, an eagle. It's incredible. Check out the dogfight in particular. They're also doing a bunch of other cool things with animals and technology.
posted by loquax at 10:16 AM PST - 28 comments

Your favorite band's website sucks. I can't count the number of times I've wanted to share a band's great new tracks with friends over email and had to give them detailed instructions on how to navigate the flash popup (ok, first click on the band's launch panel, then look in the popup for something marked "sounds" then click that and click the stream button...what? you don't have the latest flash?), or if I love a band's music, I can't seem to find their tour dates even though I know they're on the road. Merlin drops the five golden rules for bands that do too good of a job keeping their fans from their music.
posted by mathowie at 9:58 AM PST - 82 comments

Attention NYC mefites and animal lovers. I've supported an animal shelter in Brooklyn that apparently was not legit. There is now a desperate need for foster homes for the animals that were rescued from them - they especially need homes for kittens, but there are dogs involved too. There is contact info on this page, but don't look at the pictures if you don't want your heart broken.
posted by tizzie at 8:21 AM PST - 17 comments

Coltrane's Giant Steps, visually explained. (via)
posted by shoepal at 7:57 AM PST - 37 comments

I've invoked the name before. But while looking for the web site of Peter Zumthor, I came up with this.
posted by Dick Paris at 5:30 AM PST - 7 comments

Physics Today provides a nice overview of some of the technical challenges of transitioning to a hydrogen economy and transforming the electric infrastructure.
posted by kliuless at 4:45 AM PST - 38 comments

The British aid agency OXFAM has released new figures on foreign aid. In 2003, the average aid budget of wealthy countries was just 0.25% of national income. According to the OECD this is actually a modest increase. Only 5 countries: Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden meet or exceed the 0.7% target agreed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Among wealthy nations, the US is meanest in terms of percentage. At 0.14%, or £8 billion a year, the US foreign aid budget is less than one tenth of what was spent on the invasion of Iraq. The aid budgets of rich nations are half what they were in 1960, Oxfam said, while poor countries are having to pay $100 million a day in debt repayments. Does foreign aid help? Or is it just throwing good money after bad?
posted by three blind mice at 1:35 AM PST - 30 comments