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Broken Saints is a beautifully done flash animation. A little anime in feel with some strange sonic diversions every once in a while. The pacing is a little slow for my highly Americanized tastes, but it's gorgeous all the same.
posted by willnot at 11:52 PM PST - 11 comments

Sam Sloan is well known as an oddball character in the insular world of U.S. tournament chess. But he deserves wider recognition as one of the greatest Internet cranks of all time.

TURN OFF YOUR SOUND before entering Sloan's site or clicking on any of the links below - he seems to embed a MIDI file on every single solitary page.

Sloan, whether driving his New York taxicab, winning his case before the Supreme court, accusing Virginia authorities of kidnapping his daughter, indulging his creepy obsession with young girls, or just playing 1. g4, never fails to surprise and entertain on his incredibly long, scrollable home page.
posted by crunchburger at 10:52 PM PST - 14 comments

Student fails, and parents threaten to sue. Teacher stands firm. Alas, the School Board caves in and the underachieving brat gets to graduate. This is: (A) a sad sign of our times, (B) a ridiculous travesty, (C) a terrible precedent for teachers and students alike, or (D) all of the above. Discuss.
posted by Fofer at 10:47 PM PST - 77 comments

What did Gray know and when did he know it?
"Just after the deal was signed, an Oracle lobbyist handed a $25,000 campaign donation to an aide to Davis who was involved in negotiating the pact."
posted by nobody_knose at 8:49 PM PST - 11 comments

BBC's Newsnight reports on a massive security oversight that makes unencrypted NATO video surveillance available on the Internet "Nato surveillance flights in the Balkans are beaming their pictures over an insecure satellite link - and anyone can tune in and watch their operations live," reports Mark Urban of BBC2's late-night news analysis show. Near-realtime footage of NATO surveillance operations in the Balkans is routinely gathered by spy planes and returned to base as an encrypted signal and then forwarded to intelligence facilities in the US. However, when they are beamed back to Europe for analysis at NATO headquarters, no encryption is used. It is possible to tune into and watch these live video feeds (complete with map references and information about the type of aircraft in use) and so, in theory, an unfriendly agency could use the pictures to see what troops are up to and who they are watching. How long before this loophole is acknowledged and closed? Or should all surveillance data be made ever more available to whoever wants it?
posted by hmgovt at 4:24 PM PST - 13 comments

The BBC tonight debated the viability of The Monarchy over the next fifty years. In a viewers vote, the mood seemed to be that yes, it isn't perfect, but it's preferable to having an elected President as your head of state ... America, discuss.
posted by feelinglistless at 2:51 PM PST - 30 comments

A harrowing three part series about the recovery of a severely burned Phoenix police officer. While not for the squeamish, I haven't read anything as poignant in weeks.

Still, the doctor knew if there was a way to save him, this was it. He worked on, though his misgivings would not go away. "We're removing this guy's complete identity," he thought. "We're going to subject him to surviving this." Each doctor was thinking the same thing: If it were himself on the table, he'd rather die.
posted by machaus at 2:16 PM PST - 10 comments

"Dirty Bomber" also John Doe 2? "Here's a discovery to unsettle the average American and elate the average conspiracy theorist: Take a look at these two pictures. Notice any resemblence? The picture on the right is Abdullah al-Muhajir, aka Jose Padilla, whom the U.S. government claims is an al Qaeda operative recently arrested on suspicion of planning a "dirty bomb" radioactive attack on the U.S. And the picture at left? Why, that's John Doe No. 2, the still-unaccounted-for co-conspirator from the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995! What, you say, what? You mean the FBI somehow failed to notice this? Or did they?" (found on rotten.com)
posted by stifford at 2:14 PM PST - 28 comments

Not your average law firm website. Powers Phillips, P.C., is a small law firm located in downtown Denver, Colorado within convenient walking distance of over fifty bars and a couple of doughnut shops. Powers Phillips is somewhat peculiar in that six of its lawyers are, to put it most politely, uppity women, who through various shenanigans and underhanded schemes control the firm. Found on Overlawyered.
posted by internal at 2:04 PM PST - 9 comments

oh my god. what's worse... retouching photos of 38 week stillborns for a living, or the fact that there's some sort of demand for it?
posted by jcterminal at 1:36 PM PST - 29 comments

Artbots 2002: The Robot Talent Show Technology is not interesting. People doing things with technology, particularly when they're doing things that maybe no one really expected them to do, are the interesting part. Motors, sensors, circuitry and other technological raw materials have few inherent biases; it takes human intuition, creativity, and action to turn a pile of parts into a complex, functioning object. This show features the work of a group of humans who spend their time turning piles of parts into art.
posted by srboisvert at 12:52 PM PST - 2 comments

Threat of 'dirty bomb' softened Attorney General John Ashcroft on Monday overstated the potential threat posed by "dirty bomb" suspect Abdullah Al Muhajir, Bush administration and law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Ashcroft's remarks annoyed the White House and led the administration to soften the government's descriptions of the alleged plot. "I don't think there was actually a plot beyond some fairly loose talk and (Al Muhajir's) coming in here obviously to plan further deeds," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told CBS on Tuesday. So, does this mean he'll actually get treated like an American citizen and get to see a lawyer?
posted by dejah420 at 11:47 AM PST - 29 comments

How about some Mark Leyner to brighten your day? So, how do you mistreat your Grandmother?
posted by lilboo at 11:16 AM PST - 9 comments

Music industry makes first mature move in years!
Universal and Sony will respond to piracy by selling CDs at $9.99 - and singles at .99. How easy was that? (Link requires free registration but well worth it, IMO)
posted by magullo at 11:14 AM PST - 52 comments

Oooh, Martha's in trouble... Looks like her ex-boyfriend may have tipped her off to some insider information (and subsequently got popped). News of the incident has caused Martha Stewart Omnimedia stock to drop. Not a Good Thing.
posted by shecky57 at 10:39 AM PST - 13 comments

Fairly well-reasoned WSJ Op-Ed piece concerning the Boston Phoenix decision to link the unedited Daniel Pearl video. Apparently the Phoenix's editor claims he would have wanted it shown.
posted by Su at 10:26 AM PST - 18 comments

Chickflicks? The American Film Institute's list of top 100 U.S. screen romances. But the list lacks my three favorite romantic movies: Braveheart, True Romance, and Bull Durham.

I figured out a long time ago if I wanted a guy to take me to a tearjerker I would need to combine romance with machismo like sports, violence, and medieval weaponary. If you like to see tough guys wind up with trembling lips these three movies always get the job done.

Right guys?
posted by oh posey at 9:54 AM PST - 66 comments

God's Justice and Ours. Justice Antonin Scalia writes on capital punishment in First Things: "In my view, the major impetus behind modern aversion to the death penalty is the equation of private morality with governmental morality. This is a predictable (though I believe erroneous and regrettable) reaction to modern, democratic self–government."
posted by Ty Webb at 9:49 AM PST - 30 comments

UMass Researcher Finds Most People Lie In Everyday Conversation UMass Researcher Finds Most People Lie In Everyday Conversation "Most people lie in everyday conversation when they are trying to appear likable and competent, according to a study conducted by University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert S. Feldman and published in the most recent Journal of Basic and Applied Social Psychology…The study also found that lies told by men and women differ in content, though not in quantity. Feldman said the results showed that men do not lie more than women or vice versa, but that men and women lie in different ways. "Women were more likely to lie to make the person they were talking to feel good, while men lied most often to make themselves look better," Feldman said." Are you a liar? C’mon now, tell the truth.
posted by martk at 9:29 AM PST - 34 comments

The Internet Pinball Database has shots of backglasses, playing tables, and promotional flyers for just about every pinball machine ever created. I loved pinball. Now, it seems impossible to find a machine to play on. Back when I worked at a local pizza shop, we had a rotation of some great machines. I really enjoyed the Addams Family, Star Wars, Lethal Weapon 3 (which i remember as being really easy), and especially the Twilight Zone game, with the special white power ball. A walk down memory lane that served me well. Find a place near you to play some pinball here. Or, you could just go pro.
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:58 AM PST - 34 comments

"We eat the sweets while the monkeys roam the streets" It is my humble belief that with all of the existing India-Pakistan tension, it would only take the musical talents of two men -- MC Vikram and Luda Krishna -- to bring peace throughout the land and into the hearts of everyone who appreciates down home Indian rap. [QuickTime required for music, but text lyrics are also provided]
posted by aaronchristy at 8:52 AM PST - 5 comments

Who bombed Judi Bari? We'll likely never know because of FBI bungling. Pursue and blame the victim to stifle activist speech. So is this a running theme at the FBI?
posted by fleener at 6:16 AM PST - 6 comments

"SuperHeroes would use Hostess Cupcakes, Twinkies, or Fruit Pies to foil criminal plots, stop potential riots or capture escaping felons. No matter how nefarious the villain or potentially dangerous the situation, there was nothing the taste of fudgy icing or creamy filling couldn’t stop".

An ad man recalls the silly plotlines and stringent guidelines writing comic book advertisements for Hostess Cupcakes. A great collection of the Hostess ads here, and more here.
posted by iconomy at 6:08 AM PST - 17 comments

Homemade Gauss Rifle and other fun science toys for kids. Don't forget to check out the amazing catalog of cool stuff you can buy to build these things. There's nothing more fun than a 4-pack of (rare earth element) Neodymium / Iron / Boron magnets!
posted by Irontom at 5:22 AM PST - 7 comments

Don't click this link! A woman in Athens, Greece went to the doctor complaining of headaches. Upon examination, the doctor discovered a SPIDER LIVING IN HER EAR. Good night, folks, pleasant dreams. (via Fark)
posted by RylandDotNet at 3:00 AM PST - 32 comments

Argentina are out of the World Cup in round one for the first time in forty years. England and Sweden go through to round the second. w00t!
posted by stuporJIX at 1:26 AM PST - 45 comments