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Repeat after me: LION. Repeat after me: LION.
posted by onkelchrispy at 9:44 PM PST - 28 comments

The History of Online Comics, by T Campbell. A painstakingly annotated eight-part series [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] ranging from the first webcomics through the inception of the collectives and on to the present day. A good read, even if he does seem to think that Boulder is in the Midwest. [via Websnark]
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:40 PM PST - 13 comments

Republican environmental politics as usual? While the president's policies seem to be standard for his party, Bill Moyers thinks there's more than meets the eye. On receiving Harvard medical school's Global Environment Citizen Award, Moyers posits that destruction of the environment isn't just good for big business, it's a self fulfilling prophecy of the apocalypse. Not just any old apocalypse, it's The Rapture, complete with plagues for the non-believers and immmediate ascension to the right hand of God Himself for the righteous.

Two days after Moyer's speech, Science magazine looks at the scientific consensus on global warming. If you're having a hard time explaining all this to your kids, don't worry, your tax dollars are hard at work.
posted by jimray at 9:32 PM PST - 51 comments

Dear Cell Phone User (pdf): We are aware that your ongoing conversation about [insert topic here] is very important to you, but we thought you'd like to know that it doesn't interest us in the least. In fact, your babbling disregard for others is more than a little annoying. (via and via) SHHH!
posted by shoepal at 8:39 PM PST - 70 comments

Beware ... step away from the laptop. Laptop computers may damage male fertility. Dr. Yefim Sheynkin of the State University of New York (Stony Brook) reports in the journal Human Reproduction. "Laptops, which reach high internal operating temperatures, can heat up the scrotum which could affect the quality and quantity of men’s sperm." "...Sheynkin, director of male infertility and microsurgery at the university. 'Don't get me wrong -- the laptop computer is very useful and helpful. But we need to be cautious.' "
posted by ericb at 8:34 PM PST - 29 comments

Jews against Israel.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 5:47 PM PST - 110 comments

SawStop The videos are amazing.
posted by Mwongozi at 5:22 PM PST - 55 comments

Palestinian opinions. A poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center indicates a dramatic decline in Palestinian support for acts of violence targeting Israelis. For the first time since the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000, a majority of Palestinians, some 52%, oppose violence against Israel. Palestinian opposition to attacks on Israelis is up 25% since last June. Original report is here in pdf. Is the intifada finished? If so should Arafat be awarded a second Nobel Peace Prize for dying?
posted by Ugandan Discussions at 4:46 PM PST - 26 comments

Assorted Street Posters - "This collection of street posters, mad scribblings, political screeds, religious rants, and paranoid raves was collected on the streets of New York City from 1985 to the present. Some time ago, it occurred to me that the streets are as full of art as, say, thrift shops are full of great paintings. . ." (via cmonkey via undule) (this is my 7th post please be gentle)
posted by neckro23 at 4:06 PM PST - 12 comments

Homeless Iraq vets showing up at shelters U.S. veterans from the war in Iraq are beginning to show up at homeless shelters around the country, and advocates fear they are the leading edge of a new generation of homeless vets not seen since the Vietnam era.
posted by Postroad at 3:30 PM PST - 44 comments

How many consumer products are so loved that users create elaborate animations to showcase their enthusiasm? Only one that I can think of. (He has apparently had problems with having enough bandwidth to host the video, so you'll need to follow the "On to the iPod mini ad" link on his page to get to the mirror du jour.) I'm behind the iPod curve here, because despite being a gadget guy, a music guy, and a (kind-of) internet and computer guy, I didn't get one until a few months ago. I must say it has changed my outlook on life, especially when driving, because instead of constantly cursing while switching radio stations every 10 seconds, I now carry my own radio station with me, and it never plays any songs I hate. (my first post, please be gentle!)
posted by centerpunch at 3:00 PM PST - 51 comments

Speed Demo Archives is the Guinness Book of Records for Quake speed runs, but they also have speed demos for other games, including a 2:57:35 Half-Life 2 run (torrent to video here). [Via FileRush]
posted by turbodog at 2:55 PM PST - 7 comments

Is this you? Here's something for all of us who are desperately waiting for the next issue of Found, but are still a little bit creeped out by the pervy version.
posted by scrim at 2:51 PM PST - 17 comments

Poland at War - Photographs of Nazi-occupied Poland taken between 1939 and 1945
posted by cmonkey at 2:18 PM PST - 22 comments

With the next round of bloggies (or web log awards for those not down with the hip lingo), there's some concern that some types of blogs with large communities may not be included. Specifically, communities that are well known for tons of online events, and large gathering places whose interactions leak in to and out from real life. So, the food bloggers (floggers?) have done what they do best, and started their own awards - with 14 nomination categories, the results plan to, at the very least, make us all drool, if not inspire a few feasts here and there.

(and yay to mefi for winning last year's best community blog!)
posted by jearbear at 1:55 PM PST - 7 comments

The Poetry of Henry Reed Available online, not just his poems (including his most famous "Naming of Parts") but also audio of him reading, biography, drama, and criticism. Need a recommendation? Sophomore Clifford R. of my English Ten class proclaimed "Naming of Parts" as "wickedly, pathetically awesome!"
posted by John of Michigan at 1:51 PM PST - 5 comments

The universe in just two symbols. The rest, as they say, is details. No wonder the "Physics Establishment" is trying to keep this quiet. The author, having conquered the universe in general, tackles poetry, as well.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:21 PM PST - 20 comments

Preserving Democracy - What Went Wrong in Ohio Judiciary Democratic Forum - December 8, 2004. Congressman Conyers hosted a forum on the Ohio Voting Irregularities. Participant list and statements here. Covering such issues as the Warren County lockdown, the Franklin County "glitch", and much more. Wiliam Rivers Pitt provides a good on the scene report.
posted by dinsdale at 1:13 PM PST - 9 comments

Extinct is forever. Or is it? Scientists are hard at work reconstructing entire genomes of our common ancestors. The present technology is a far cry from Jurassic Park, but we're getting there.
posted by mowglisambo at 12:58 PM PST - 9 comments

The artist Gustav Klimt began his career by creating classical realist murals for public buildings in Vienna. Soon, his innovations and experiments became too controversial for further government-commissioned work, illustrating the changes in society taking place around him. Klimt’s sensual paintings (which sometimes included nudity) shocked some, as did his experiments in form. Since his father was an engraver, Klimt took to using gold in his work, creating a distinct style. You’ve probably seen at least his most famous work, The Kiss. People can see Klimt’s work in person, including the spectacular “Beethoven Frieze” wall cycle, at the Secession Museum in Vienna. On-line, there’s this database of about 100 works, searchable by title, year, theme and technique. Another gallery of 114 works is here, and for landscapes, try these.
posted by jeffmshaw at 12:13 PM PST - 25 comments

Developer in space? Oracle has announced sweepstakes to send a developer into orbit. Answer a quiz and win a sub-orbital space flight. Contest is open to software developers who work with Oracle software in connection with their employment. Start cramming. Good luck! (And for the rest, with a $10,000 deposit for the $98,000 ticket, nothing stops us from booking our own space flight with Space Adventures.)
posted by jellybuzz at 11:52 AM PST - 6 comments

Introducing Bob Jones University, a liberal arts, nondenominational Christian university in South Carolina. BJU stands "without apology for the old-time religion and the absolute authority of the Bible." The University Creed explains more. New Age, jazz, rock, and country music is still not permitted on campus. Women's hairstyles. "should be neat, orderly, and feminine. Avoid cutting-edge fads and cuts so short that they take on a masculine look." BJU believes that "biblical principles preclude gambling, dancing, and the beverage use of alcohol" -- just ask the new Dean of Men [QuickTime]. The current president of Bob Jones University, Bob Jones III, recently wrote a congratulatory letter to President Bush: "In your re-election, God has graciously granted America--though she doesn't deserve it--a reprieve from the agenda of paganism." You might recall that they just recently lifted their ban on inter-racial dating, but a parents' note is still required.
posted by ori at 11:22 AM PST - 139 comments

Chicken Little is Disney's first feature length 3d animated movie (without Pixar). Mark Dindal, director of Cat's Don't Dance and Emporer's New Groove, is at the helm. Is there a chance that the sky won't hit them in the face?
posted by Hands of Manos at 11:13 AM PST - 43 comments

War on Drugs - Do you remember it? A call for support of this amorphous war has been trumpeted by every American President from Nixon through Clinton. The current guy, has associated himself (at least a little bit) with the Drug War in the previous campaign but current policy, not so much. What I’m curious about is the actual phrase, the concept of War on Drugs. It looks like we still dedicate large sums of money to the effort. It seems to me that we just don’t use the phrase much anymore. Did we win? Did we lose? Do we just want to forget about it? Or, did we repackage the endeavor under a new name? I tend to think we are not capable of waging more than one war against the nameless other at a given time. It would just be too scary. So, I think maybe we're bundling the War on Terror and the War on Drugs under a new brand name.
posted by Crackerbelly at 10:07 AM PST - 31 comments

25 years in a non-existant war In 1979, a Khmer Rouge guerrilla fled to the hills of Cambodia when his village was attacked by Vietnamese troops. He and a small group of friends and family lived in the dense forests for 25 years, emerging in 2004 to discover that the war was over and that Pol Pot was dead. They had been fearful of any human contact, believing everyone to be the enemy.
posted by BradNelson at 9:44 AM PST - 17 comments

Haughey 2.0 Mefi user #1 will be reproducing. Hearty congratulations!
posted by owillis at 9:19 AM PST - 94 comments

New blog on Feeneygate (the Congressman Tom Feeney/Yang Enterprises/Clinton Curtis vote-fraud software affidavit thing) by the original reporter.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 9:19 AM PST - 10 comments

People talk about how universities have almost turned into diploma mills, churning out degrees to almost anyone that breathes. So what do students think about the current situation? According to this student, it doesn't go far enough: "I have come to the conclusion that the University system makes absolutely no sense. Students pay teachers to educate us, yet they are then allowed to tell us how much we're learning...I'll be the one to tell the receiver of my hard-earned money exactly how well they did. Shouldn't it be the same with education?" That's right, students want, nay, demand an A, since they paid for it.
posted by mathowie at 9:03 AM PST - 77 comments

Deconstructing Dude A linguist from the University of Pittsburgh has published a scholarly paper deconstructing and deciphering the word "dude," contending it is much more than a catchall for lazy, inarticulate surfers, slackers and teenagers. An admitted dude-user during his college years, Scott Kiesling said the four-letter word has many uses, all of which express closeness between men in a safely heterosexual manner. How about you? Do you do the dude? If so, does that mean you're white [PDF]?
posted by owenville at 8:56 AM PST - 32 comments

Mazaltov!!
posted by spicynuts at 7:44 AM PST - 23 comments

It is not the first time this thing happens, but I'm sure we'll be seeing more and more of this until Americans finally wake up and realise the nightmare Bush has dragged us all in. What with CIA reports painting a completely different picture than the administration would have us belive and the help from people with experience from previous military blunders, it looks like we may soon have a revival of the "stop the war trains" tradition. Cheers!
posted by acrobat at 7:28 AM PST - 26 comments

Thunderbird 1.0 has RSS support integrated The release of Thunderbird 1.0 was covered yesterday, however nowhere in the thread was the new RSS integration mentioned. I'm now viewing MeFi in my email client, complete with all of the sort/search features that I depend on for my email, and that's pretty sweet.
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:22 AM PST - 47 comments

Phoarr - what a lovely set of pixels! Following in the footsteps of the annual Miss World contest is Miss Digital World, a contest to create the perfect virtual woman.
posted by bap98189 at 7:08 AM PST - 32 comments

Vladimir Aniskin, by day a farm equipment researcher (pdf), makes gorgeous Faberge-like creations, haunting and whimsical metaphors of war and peace, and more in extreme miniature. Moscow reporters have entered him in a competition (Russian-language page) for the strangest hobby practiced in Russia. Via the ever-brilliant aldaily.com.
posted by By The Grace of God at 5:58 AM PST - 7 comments

Angry? Tired of x-tian zealots? Having difficulty living with other people? Disappointed with your new job? Tired of childish rants? Getting old? Or just generally pissed off? We feel your pain. Come on in and tell us all about it! (NSFW)
posted by three blind mice at 4:36 AM PST - 6 comments

Quzzle. Using the basic 'dad's puzzle', a 5X4 grid with a number of blocks, Jim Lewis calculated the most difficult solvable variation (yes of course that's quibbleable). Read more here.
posted by biffa at 3:14 AM PST - 21 comments

Proof that girls are evil…
posted by horhey at 12:33 AM PST - 98 comments

Polarization.com - polarized light in nature & technology. [via MoFi]
posted by Gyan at 12:25 AM PST - 3 comments