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Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. Harry Knowles reviews a shot-for-shot remake of Speilberg's classic movie done, over the span of seven years, by 10-11-12 year olds. Speilberg, upon seeing it, was "astonished" at its "ingenuity and imagination." There's even a preview.
posted by adrober at 11:19 PM PST - 43 comments

"Then we realized that somehow an insane god had taken control of our world and was out to kill us all." Subscribers of the multiplayer online game "Shadowbane" were in for a shock Tuesday evening when they realized the game system had been hacked, and the rules fundamentally altered, and not in a good way (unless you happen to like mayhem). While this ended up being a "no harm, no foul" scenario, as everything was eventually set right, it was breaking new ground in terms of the uses of hacking. In a world where characters in these games are sold via EBay, and nearly half a million people subscribe to Everquest, how long before legitimate (non "fun and games") version of what just happened occurs?
posted by jonson at 10:28 PM PST - 17 comments

The Insect Company: "Over 6,000 listings with more than 1,600 life-size reference photographs."
posted by hama7 at 7:24 PM PST - 6 comments

Second study finds gaps in Bush tax cut. A new study has found that 8 million mostly low-income taxpayers will not receive any benefit from the tax law that Republicans have said for weeks was designed to benefit all those who pay income taxes. This in addition to the child tax credit already absent within the law.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 4:52 PM PST - 36 comments

13-year-old Gregory Robert Smith graduates from Randolph-Macon College this month. He has yet to find the vaccine for the brutal Atomic Wedgie.
posted by LexRockhard at 3:46 PM PST - 35 comments

Nims winter story is a beautiful, if unseasonal, Swedish animation. May not be too clever on dial up.
posted by Fat Buddha at 2:33 PM PST - 9 comments

Pixar's newest kid flick good enough for adults, Finding Nemo was proceeded by a "classic" Pixar short, KnickKnack. The weird thing is that they felt compelled to change 2 characters (the "bathing beauty" and the mermaid) from a ridiculously geometric, cartoony bosomy shape to flat chested. What gives here? This reminds me of the changes Spielberg made in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and of course, the regrettable Greedo shooting incident in Lucas' Star Wars: A New Hope. My question is: When is it right to change an existing work, for whatever reason?
posted by jpburns at 2:33 PM PST - 30 comments

Remember the Coastal Records Project? When I first heard about this, I applauded, then wasted a couple of hours looking at the nice pics. But I couldn't help wondering when they'd run into some compound of a celebrity who'd put up a stink (okay, I was hoping it would be Ah-nold, and there'd be a scene reminiscent of his movies, stinger missile launched from his patio at the helicopter...) alas, it's only Barbara. Still, does this only make me wonder if our celebrities are helping push through laws to establish themselves in a higher class than us peons? Please note that the irony of rich people suing each other isn't lost on me, and I'm not trying to put forward that it could be any one of us touring in a helicopter doing this. But I mean, the guy's taking picture's of the whole coast, not just some star-map, coastline version. Until this lawsuit, I'd wager, only the most dedicated stalker would've known this was her place. But now...
posted by Busithoth at 2:28 PM PST - 12 comments

Sunday art stroll - visit the portfolios of some contemporary illustrators and artists ranging from the sweet, the sophisticated, and the sexy to the satiric and the strange. (flash warning and some illustrated nudity)
posted by madamjujujive at 12:00 PM PST - 9 comments

If you're a fan of Neil Gaiman then maybe you liked The Sandman. If you were a big fan of The Sandman then perhaps you stumbled upon The Sandman annotations, a comprehensive resource covering the historical, folkloric and religious/mythological references - page by page, panel by panel - found within the storyline. From Chaucer to Dante to the Eumenides, Gaiman created a fabulous story that inspired young and old alike to dream again (one of my personal favorites is A Dream of a Thousand Cats).some mefi sandman-related artifacts can be found here and here.
posted by poopy at 11:53 AM PST - 7 comments

Kodak gives more reason to convert to digital photography. Eastman Kodak's "Kodak Park facility" in Rochester, is #1 in New York for releases of suspected toxicants and neurotoxins to endocrine, gastrointestinal, liver, cardiovascular, kidney, respiratory, and reproductive health. Remember dioxin? The stuff of Agent Orange, used in the Vietnam war that caused so much grief to war vets and Vietnamese, well Kodak released more dioxin into New York's environment in 2000 than any other source. In 1996 they were dumping methylene chloride concentrations as high as 3,600,000 parts per billion into area rivers, when the legal level is five parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found Kodak guilty of illegal disposal of hazardous wastes, illegal use of incinerators and waste piles, failing to notify the EPA of groundwater contaminations, making undocumented shipments of hazardous wastes, and for 20 years having leaky underground pipes, among other violations.
posted by giantkicks at 11:50 AM PST - 30 comments

The origins of the Star-Spangled Banner may come as a surprise to many Americans. The tune was originally that of an old English drinking song about a gentlemen's club, the Anacreontic Society. Of course, the words may have changed, but the song remains the same. Thanks to Adbusters for the spark.
posted by majcher at 11:44 AM PST - 12 comments

The Imam who cursed the Pope and Kofi Annan. "It's hard to summarize a story as complicated as this in a few lines: Fatwas, Mormons, ufologists, secret services, the Supreme Solomonic Order of the Princes of Shekal, coups in Somalia, nuns, a mysterious murder, an African dictator and a "God intoxicated" Communist dictator."
A gem of nefarious weirdness, so bizarre it has to be real. Very annoying pop-ups but still worth it IMHO.
posted by talos at 9:57 AM PST - 2 comments

Anatolia, the Asiatic portion of contemporary Turkey extending from the Bosphorous and Aegean coast eastward, is one of the oldest continually inhabited regions in the world with an unbroken lineage dating back to the early Stone (Paleolithic) Age. Now an Italian scientist believes he has found the cradle of civilization at the Aslantepe Mound in the Province of Malatya in eastern Turkey, including the oldest known Palace and metal swords dating from 3350BC, civilization older than Mesopotamia.
posted by stbalbach at 9:47 AM PST - 11 comments

Jpeg Baby. I remember when I first came and downloaded you. [flash song & video]
posted by srboisvert at 7:19 AM PST - 8 comments

Are you a reluctant slob? Are your resolutions firm but your follow-thoughs flagging? If the hallway to your personal housekeeping hell is strewn with good intentions, consider KISSing your bad habits goodbye. Cat Conner's (MeFi's frykitty) new blog-style KISS Living site is great for us fleeting-attention-span types, providing tips based on her "Keep It Short and Simple" technique. I may not know what day it is, or whether Martha spells her name "Stuart" or "Stewart", but even I can focus my energy for 10 minutes at a time.
posted by taz at 3:21 AM PST - 18 comments

The Digital Journalist: Features. The Digital Journalist: Features. Photojournalism features on a spread of human life, from Afghan child labour, the Dalai Lama and the Soviet Union to Marilyn Monroe, jazz and Smalltown USA. (Warning - adverts).
posted by plep at 2:14 AM PST - 3 comments