MetaFilter

Did you know that... Aid fell in the 1990s—by nearly a third on a per capita basis in Sub-Saharan Africa? In Sub Saharan Africa, half the population lives on less than 1$ a day? At current rates Sub-Saharan Africa will not meet the poverty Goal until 2147? If all the food produced worldwide were distributed equally, every person would be able to consume 2,760 calories a day (hunger is defined as consuming fewer than 1,960 calories a day)? These and more facts can be found in the 2003 UN Human Development Report.
posted by stonerose at 8:18 PM PST - 25 comments

Avast, ye scurvy dogs! It's the pirate image archive! Here there be dozens of period prints of privateers! Highlights include monk riding, pirates forcing a man to drink to excess, and, of course, a fine selection of actual pirates. Craving more rich pirate booty? Visit The Pirate's Hold, The Pirates Site and, a personal favorite, The Pirates of the Spanish Main. Yar!
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:25 PM PST - 34 comments

Photos by Martin - a gem of a site for vicarious travelers, it features wonderful, charming photos and fascinating stories from a guy who quit his job three years ago to travel the world. He credits global photojournalist Steve McCurry as an influence. I am such a fan of these photo travel narratives, professional and amateur alike - has anyone else discivered some special favorites?
posted by madamjujujive at 7:13 PM PST - 22 comments

The first lawsuit in the wake of Lawrence v. Texas was filed today.

Lieutenant Colonel Steve Loomis is a decorated Vietnam combat veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart, who was eight days away from his twenty year retirement date and a million dollar pension, when an arsonist set fire to his home. A private sex tape involving Loomis was found during the arson investigation, and turned over to the Army.

Shortly there after LTC Loomis was discharged, losing his pension, because he was gay. His complaint[PDF] seeks to reverse his 1997 discharge.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 6:22 PM PST - 46 comments

Concevons un million de singes à frapper au hasard sur les touches d'une machine à écrire ... A short history of the Million Monkey Meme, 1913-1996.
posted by carter at 6:09 PM PST - 19 comments

Britney Spears not a virgin. "Seriously, I haven't had a boy in a really long time, and I'm really craving ... just a kiss, man. Just a kiss would be nice."
posted by swift at 5:03 PM PST - 89 comments

The Internet is ... Would anyone like to disagree with this argument?
posted by feelinglistless at 4:44 PM PST - 47 comments

This gladiator looks like he's trying to step up to the red robot for the human crushing title. But, in all seriousness, am I the only one whose first reaction on reading this was: "Oh man, what if they had one of those during the Seattle protests?" It has apparently been in development for some time now, but somehow this version seems a little scarier. [main two content links via boingboing.]
posted by jann at 3:03 PM PST - 11 comments

Poogle? I was was bored so I started with bloogle and did several more until I came across this.
posted by Fidel at 2:51 PM PST - 23 comments

How to respond to critics. Recently, Liz Phair wrote a rambling letter in response to criticism from the old grey lady. She's not the first though, when Dylan wannabe Ken Oakley received bad reviews her personally wrote responses to everyone. The responses were so over the top that magazine writers began reviewing albums he never wrote just to receive the responses. Then there's Vincent Gallo.
posted by drezdn at 2:39 PM PST - 23 comments

He can click on a bank in Manhattan and see who has communication lines running into it and where. He can zoom in on Baltimore and find the choke point for trucking warehouses. He can drill into a cable trench between Kansas and Colorado and determine how to create the most havoc with a hedge clipper. Using mathematical formulas, he probes for critical links, trying to answer the question: "If I were Osama bin Laden, where would I want to attack?" In the background, he plays the Beastie Boys.
posted by elwoodwiles at 1:13 PM PST - 21 comments

Sept. 11, 2003: Photoblog your life

"I've been thinking about September 11th. I've been thinking about the United States response - The Patriot Act. Invading Afganastan & Iraq. Death. Fear. Oppression. It seems to me that this is NOT the America I want the world to know. So I propose a blogwide Photoblog your Life day on September 11th. Take your camera with you. Take pictures. Show the world your life. Show the world your daily delights. Show the world that we choose life, happiness and freedom."

[via Big Pink Cookie]
posted by kirkaracha at 11:22 AM PST - 60 comments

If you liked the lyrics on Dylan's last album, you'll probably also like the Japanese gangster novel he lifted some of them from. Verdict: Not guilty, on grounds of prior artistic achievement. (Long article in today's WSJ not linked because the old WSJ free-linkification doesn't work anymore!!?)
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 11:07 AM PST - 42 comments

Bush: "a bottomless void"? Jon Carroll's Boston Globe op-ed asks whether it's ever possible to rid the world of evil, as W. claims is his ultimate goal, and answers in the negative. Is presidential rhetoric on good and evil helpful? Elaine Pagels doesn't think so.
posted by serafinapekkala at 10:59 AM PST - 14 comments

British Columbia joins Ontario as the second province in Canada to allow gay marriage. Not everyone is happy though.
posted by cyberbry at 10:35 AM PST - 51 comments

White House admits fudging Niger documents. The administration today admitted that forged evidence of Iraq's attempts to buy nuclear material should not have been presented as valid. This came about as a result of an atypically harsh period of questioning from the press following the publication of this editorial over the weekend... [more inside]
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 9:21 AM PST - 119 comments

A little coffee shop in a little North Carolina town closes. When I worked in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., the opening of the Hyphen (get it? get it? the Hyphen in Fuquay-Varina?) was a miracle. There, in the midst of antique stores, clothiers, and the Bob Barker Co., was this hip, unique eatery owned and operated by two local artists. Owner Nina Fortmeyer partially cites that the little tobacco town has simply become "Wal-Mart-ized" in its growth, leading to a loss in downtown foot traffic, leading to lost business. This, methinks, is the greatest and most obvious consequence of globalization, the mom-and-pops being run out of town. If this is happening in Fuquay-Varina, it is absolutely happening everywhere. Very sad.
posted by NedKoppel at 8:58 AM PST - 63 comments

World's tallest rideable bicycle? On Canada Day, Brad Graham rode a 14 foot high bicycle without assistance for about 20 minutes. As the event is processed by Guinness, Brad's book on building your own bike will be published later this year, detailing his 20 years of building strange bikes and robots, amongst other vehicles and gadgets. This is not just a hobby done in his Thunder Bay garage; there are many other builders throughout Canada, although they may not test their vehicles using their own children.
posted by myopicman at 8:22 AM PST - 10 comments

Indigo Arts. Folk art from Africa, Asia, and the Americas - barbershop signs, Hindu gods, vodou, Cuban art and more.
posted by plep at 7:38 AM PST - 8 comments

RFID tagging and tracking plans (mirror 1, mirror 2) With the tag line "Identify Any Object Anywhere Automatically", this group (the MIT Auto-ID Center) is leading the way into our bold new future of total tracking. {Originally uncovered by CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)}
posted by Irontom at 7:35 AM PST - 18 comments

Keyboard sumo is one of the most silly games I have ever seen, but why not have a go at it ? Or, if you're not the sporty type, why not ask the (slightly cynical) music critic Bile ? More stuff at chthonicionic.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 6:50 AM PST - 2 comments

tessellating animation
posted by crunchland at 5:31 AM PST - 13 comments

You won't like me when I'm mad [Flash]. And you probably won't like me when I'm glad either. [via Just Orb]
posted by DBAPaul at 3:32 AM PST - 9 comments

Buddy Ebsen aka Jed Clampett and Barnaby Jones, dies... I don't recall ever seeing The Beverly Hillbillies on Irish TV, but I clearly remember Barnaby Jones as a kid, which got shown in syndication here. I always thought he was too old to be a detective, but I always found the show strangely watchable. He had quite a career - a career in vaudeville, he danced with child star Shirley Temple, he was the singing voice of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, he was the framework for Mickey Mouse in some of the early Mickey Mouse cartoons....truly, he was one of the last connections to the golden age of Hollywood. RIP Buddy.
posted by tomcosgrave at 3:03 AM PST - 6 comments