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Washington Post launches electronic edition. The whole paper is available online with a combination of Flash and HTML. I even downloaded it as a 20MB PDF for viewing later. Is this the future of newspapers? Are we headed towards paper-less editions of the newspaper? [More...]
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 8:23 PM PST - 29 comments

Growing up in the MTV generation. Reading the earlier Eminem link just reminded me how much MTV has been part of my socialization as a child of the 80's. MTV is a business that has effected not only how i look at the world, but also how i view myself. I'm just curious if there's anyone else out there who have felt so strongly shaped by (through reaction to or following of) MTV.
posted by NGnerd at 7:19 PM PST - 53 comments

Rainy day? Kill time and create an exquisite corpse.
posted by Catch at 5:31 PM PST - 11 comments

Eminem to save America. Suspend your disbelief (like I did) and read what Al Giordano has to say about Slim Shady and his new White America video. (more inside)
posted by crasspastor at 5:23 PM PST - 107 comments

You may have seen the Newseum's collection of newspaper front page images from Sept. 12, 2001. Now you can view the front pages of over 119 newspapers from 23 countries, updated daily.
posted by arco at 4:59 PM PST - 14 comments

Forget the world for a minute, darlings. It's suppertime. Let's use our fabulously round and colorful dishware from America's premier champion of casual living, the handsome Russel Wright. An artist, industrial designer and marketing genius, Wright was a pioneer in spun aluminum before his innovative American Modern dinnerware (designed for the masses, not the classes) made him a star. Housewives would line up for blocks when a new shipment arrived. Some of his pieces are truly museum-quality. Cooper-Hewitt Museum quality, to be exact. Only 3 weeks left in the exhibition. And if you see Carmen, one of the world's top Russel Wright collectors, do tell her hello.
posted by mediareport at 4:19 PM PST - 9 comments

Agency Was to Crash Plane on 9/11 How weird is this??!?
posted by bas67 at 3:46 PM PST - 8 comments

Survive This! Last week the Los Angeles New Times reported that NBC had signed teenage kidnap/rape victims Tamara Brooks and Jackie Marris to star in a midseason replacement "reality show", to be entitled "Survive This!"

After the initial jaw-drops of this revelation and alleged quotes from therapists and sex crime experts that "NBC may actually be doing the teens a service by exposing them to worldwide publicity", further along in the article we get this description of what the show will entail:

'Survive This!' contestants will be briefed by the girls before they are helicoptered to a remote, secret location. If things go according to plan, NBC will have placed several paroled repeat sex offenders in various locations miles from the drop zone. The contestants will have 48 hours to find safety at a remote building made to resemble a rural sheriff's station.

People were outraged. Protests were planned. There was just one catch. The author of the article made up the whole thing.

One wonders how this ever got past the editors.
posted by chuq at 3:41 PM PST - 26 comments

Coincidence? The man being questioned by police in relation to allegations that he took a £1,000,000 bribe during the takeover of Wessex Water (audited by Andersen and previously owned by Enron) is also on the board of the company whose track maintenance may have been responsible for the Potters Bar Rail Crash. Why am I not surprised to see so many of the same fingers in the same rotten pies.
posted by essexjan at 3:35 PM PST - 1 comments

WNEW Dumps Opie And Anthony I guess we know how far too far is now. How long before they make their triumphant return on another ratings-starved radio station?
posted by BGM at 2:36 PM PST - 42 comments

His Blood Warriors: Motorcycle Ministry of lower Alabama. Members wear colors based on outlaw bikers and the directions of God. "Where will the road you're on take you?" [warning: popups ahoy!]
posted by kirkaracha at 2:27 PM PST - 4 comments

An All-American Fugitive When Margo Freshwater escaped from prison 32 years ago, she began a happy and law-abiding life, becoming a devoted mother, grandmother and wife. Now she's back behind bars . . . And unless she's given a new trial or is granted clemency . . . she will remain behind bars until she is an old woman . . . Meanwhile, the man who confessed to the killing probably will die a free man.
posted by mikrophon at 1:41 PM PST - 5 comments

Medical marijuana takes a hit.
Ajulemic acid (also known as CT-3) is a new synthetic THC analog that helps relieve arthritis pain without the side effects of other non-steroidal analgesics, such as aspirin and ibuprofen -- and without the high of its chemical cousin. More inside...
posted by me3dia at 12:10 PM PST - 37 comments

'Car Talk' hits brakes on 3.1m yogurt lids.
How did I miss this incredible story? There must be a good use for these, and we can find it, together. via Current.
posted by djacobs at 11:51 AM PST - 15 comments

NY Times Reporter Jumps to His Death: Matt Drudge reports that New York Times Business reporter/editor Allen Myerson jumped to death at the NY Times building in New York City on 43rd Street this morning. Myerson was the Weekend Business Editor at the NY Times and a member of the Business Journalism Advisory Council. Among other things, Myerson reported on Enron. An abstract of a Myerson article that appeared in the newspaper last December says, "Enron Corp's failure is having repercussions not just on nation's energy industries, but is being felt through retailing, real estate, insurance, banking, Internet services, newspaper publishing, plastics and glass manufacturing, all of which Enron touched in its boundless appetite for risk and growth."
posted by maud at 11:39 AM PST - 52 comments

November 25th, 1997, marked the 134th anniversary of the battles for Chattanooga. On that day, Dave Buckhout and T.C. Moore retraced the route along which these battles flowed. They had cameras, a road map, and an '86 Buick. The resulting website is an example of what's wonderful about the internet.
posted by ewagoner at 11:26 AM PST - 3 comments

Thailand's latest pet craze The Thai government is cautioning people against a new fad sweeping Bangkok - raising giant African cockroaches as pets - saying the bugs could become a health risk if let loose.
posted by DailyBread at 10:44 AM PST - 22 comments

Demythologizing The Blues. Blues reseacher and scholar David Evans breaks it down. Country blues as a living tradition tied to a rural black culture - there is something of that culture left - I think it's essentially over.--that's from this interview with David Evans--scroll past the autobiographical details for the meat and potatos. Paul Garon, of Race Traitor and Living Blues, has strong feelings about White Blues. Similarly, black writer Jesse Douglas Allen-Taylor feels a chill amidst a white blues audience and asks Whose Blues Are They? Also, n a related and timely topic, here's Elvis Presley and the Impulse Towards Transculturation. (Hint: Elvis didn't sound black. Well, duh...) Originally in the NYT--no password needed now!--The Blues Dying In The Land Where It Was Born, and as a bonus, the New Yorker profile on an outfit I love to loathe, Fat Possum. Is is this guy's fault? And if you want to make the pilgrimage, let Junior's Juke Joint be your guide! (don't forget to make that unannounced drop in on raysmj!) Added bonus: R. Crumb's Charley Patton.
posted by y2karl at 10:01 AM PST - 34 comments

Game Studies "is a crossdisciplinary journal dedicated to games research, web-published several times a year at www.gamestudies.org. Our primary focus is aesthetic, cultural and communicative aspects of computer games." A well-designed, well-written site about a media that seems often poorly studied outside of mainstream press.
posted by moz at 9:29 AM PST - 4 comments

He never got as famous as Gary Larson or Edward Gorey, and is best known for his cat pictures, but the rest of his bizarre brand of vulgar social commentary is worth attention. He's B. Kliban, and his humor ranges from the strangely funny to the surreal. More of this gallery here.
posted by interrobang at 9:27 AM PST - 27 comments

It starts with Delaware... Over at Google Answers, a Microsoft Games Studio employee has posted a most interesting puzzle to solve. Over the course of the last twenty months a list of states has been gradually revealed by his boss, but under what criteria are they listed? He's giving $200.00 to the winner; just think of what you could buy. The fine folks at the Straight Dope are already on the case. To the Googlemobile! [via Cardhouse]
posted by thewittyname at 9:26 AM PST - 75 comments

First challenge of Maryland law making animal cruelty a felony results in acquittal. Charges were dismissed against a landlord who forcibly removed two of his tenant's three cats and dispatched them with a 12-gauge shotgun. Judge said law's language fails to clearly define "cruel killing". Also on AP.
posted by LinusMines at 9:23 AM PST - 16 comments

xrefer is billing itself as The Web's Reference Engine, and with 100 reference manuals cross-linked and indexed, it may have support for that claim. I found it last night while looking for a definition for the word eyot, which is where Frodo and Sam camp at one point near the end of the Fellowship of the Ring. The site is easy to use, and provides (at least in my mind) the feeling of browsing at the library, with all the related links that appear in a search context.
posted by hurkle at 8:48 AM PST - 7 comments

need a bmw looks like karyn, of savekaryn.com fame has a new friend. this guy asks someone to be generous and 'find it in the goodness of your heart to make his dream (of owning a $33,000 car) a reality'.
posted by reb at 8:40 AM PST - 35 comments

dumpster sticker says, Don't throw that baby away!. Christine McGuire of the Santa Cruz county District Attorney's Office thinks it's a good idea.
posted by trioperative at 8:31 AM PST - 39 comments

Starbucks announces wireless Internet access in stores and plans to charge customers for it: $29.99/month for access in one store, or $49.99/month for access in all equipped stores nationwide. Seems a little pricey to me. And besides, don't cool coffeehouses offer free wireless Internet access? They're sure getting lots of coverage of the announcement in any case.
posted by tippiedog at 7:58 AM PST - 21 comments

American movie, recording and software executives could be prohibited from entering Australia or extradited to face criminal charges if a copyright protection bill before the US Congress passes into law.
posted by Kellydamnit at 7:19 AM PST - 13 comments

"Know it well, for it is on this day that we fixed the bug that prevented one from attaching files with apostrophes in the filename. We are living in the best of all possible worlds." Oddpost engineers channel Dave Eggers in one of the most entertaining customer support blogs ever. Oh wait, it's the only one (that I've seen). Are there others?
posted by luser at 6:42 AM PST - 14 comments

A sort of inadequate memorial tribute to John Sladek. A twenty-year old interview with an author you've probably never heard of. More literary than Douglas Adams, and at least as funny. Think Terry Gilliam if he'd become a writer rather than a director (the most obvious comparison I could think of, them both being Yanks who emigrated to England). I could have added some more links, but if I tell you that he's even funnier in print you'll be googling away for yourself. Sad thing is, he's dead.
posted by chrisgregory at 1:57 AM PST - 6 comments