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Rethinking Evolution with Stuart Newman, The New Master Of Evolution? Video Interview: Evolution Politics. A reformulation of the theory of evolution. Susan Mazur presents most of the players in her latest e-book: Will the Real Theory of Evolution Please Stand Up? [more inside]
posted by hortense at 11:34 PM PST - 54 comments

Neil Fraser builds logic gates out of dominoes. (See also this half-adder.) Via Mathpuzzle.
posted by Upton O'Good at 10:46 PM PST - 19 comments

Said to be the busiest actor in Hollywood -- ever, Don LaFontaine was this generation's most prolific announcer, in the traditional sense of the word, lending his voice to all the major American television networks, and redefining the movie trailer. LaFontaine has died of complications from a collapsed lung at 68. [more inside]
posted by evilcolonel at 10:37 PM PST - 94 comments

For the first time in at least 125,000 years, the Arctic ice cap is an island. (previously)
posted by Knappster at 10:18 PM PST - 55 comments

Barack Obama has responded to the 14 questions posed by ScienceDebate2008 (discussed previously). The Martian Chronicles has outlined some key points of his response. John McCain has not responded to the questions, but has indicated that he will respond.
posted by gruchall at 7:16 PM PST - 63 comments

Amy Goodman Arrested! Amy Goodman, award-winning journalist and host of Democracy Now!, has been arrested after she tried to figure out why two of her producers had been arrested. Already people are responding. [more inside]
posted by history is a weapon at 6:27 PM PST - 298 comments

Like so many other people, you have a stack of old t-shirts you never wear. Perhaps you've gotten beyond wearing obscene slogans or Strawberry Shortcake logos. Or you feel it's time to retire that “Team Hillary” shirt. Or your favourite old shirt no longer fits over the impressive pecs/food hump you've acquired since high school. Or you've had it with MeFi and you want a way to repurpose/savage your MeFi blue t-shirt. No need to be at a loss! You might just settle for making a different style of t-shirt, but you can also use those t-shirts to make diapers for your baby, clothes for your toddler, or adult-sized undies, skirts or dresses. Or a bikini. Just beware of saggage. I mean, of the bikini, after it gets water-logged. You also might make tote bags or pillows, car seat covers, baby wipes, or dusters. If you get really ambitious, you can make a t-shirt quilt, taking inspiration from the many examples on the net. If I haven't given you enough ideas, you can turn to the ever authoritative and exhaustive AskMe, or you can do some further reading on the topic. Just don't get so carried away that you wind up having to go to work topless tomorrow. Unless, of course, your career path requires that anyway.
posted by orange swan at 4:52 PM PST - 25 comments

Welcome to the October Surprise. The Dutch intelligence service, the AIVD, has called off an operation aimed at infiltrating and sabotaging Iran's weapons industry due to an assessment that a US attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is imminent, according to a report in the country's De Telegraaf (dutch) newspaper on Friday.
posted by plexi at 4:24 PM PST - 66 comments

In the middle of the movie Gremlins 2, there is a sequence where the film seems to break, and where the gremlins invade the projection booth. For the VHS edition in the early 90's, they reshot a special sequence where the VHS tape seemed to be torn apart and in which the gremlins invaded a John Wayne movie. The DVD just kept the original theatrical version.
Sacha Feiner's fan video updates the "break sequence" for the Video on Demand era. via
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:07 PM PST - 40 comments

Forty years ago, Swinging London was yet to swing. Everything was in black and white and, in class-bound Britain, fashion photographers were trades-men – polite, smart, seen but not heard. A new breed of snappers changed all that – Terry O’Neill, Brian Duffy, David Bailey and Terence Donovan. Bailey and Donovan started their careers in the West End studio of the doyen of fashion photographers – John French. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 2:29 PM PST - 11 comments

Google Chrome Google, faced with concerns over Microsoft using it's browser marketshare to marginalize the search engine, have decided to take the fight directly to them. Google Chrome is an open sourced browser based on the Webkit HTML engine, but adds a new Javascript engine, and some UI changes. To advertise it, they've enlisted Scott McCloud to make a comic showing the browser's features. The release date is Wednesday, but watch this space.
posted by zabuni at 1:45 PM PST - 302 comments

The legendary Ken Campbell has died. Interested in everything, apparantly. Just as excited to visit Damanhur as he was to go to CERN, just down the road. Fluent in Bislama, the creole of Vanuatu, into which he translated Macbeth. Founder of the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool, which performed epic productions of The Warp, Illuminatus! and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Not quite Doctor Who (he was beaten to the role by former protogé Sylvester McCoy). A fount of knowledge on the theatre, comedy, Fortean strangeness and science and anything else you care to mention, all of which he spun together with extensive flights of imagination into glorious, hilarious one-man shows. Totally irreplaceable, and devastating loss. [more inside]
posted by Grangousier at 1:35 PM PST - 16 comments

Laboring on labor day? Some things to keep you busy. Ugly Mailboxes. Bizzare Statues. Hand Drawn Maps. French Manhole Covers. What's special about this number?.
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:27 PM PST - 22 comments

"He's always thinking about lots of things — he's a pollinator, he brings ideas to the table" You probably know Neal Stephenson for his work as an author (generally in or adjacent to the Science Fiction genre), but he's also an inventor at Washington based "Idea Factory" Intellectual Ventures, a place with modern goals like stomping out malaria and preventing hurricanes. This is after his old job as part-time rocket scientist.
posted by Artw at 1:05 PM PST - 17 comments

Literary Dealbreakers: "This book so deeply resonates with your soul that if a potential partner finds it risible, any meeting of minds (or body) is all but impossible." [more inside]
posted by anotherpanacea at 11:00 AM PST - 110 comments

A Critical Appraisal of Madness's Videos [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:24 AM PST - 46 comments

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Now With Hot Girl-on-Girl Action. [NSFW!] [more inside]
posted by sveskemus at 7:06 AM PST - 26 comments

These helicopters fly themselves. No mention of arming them, but who do they think they are kidding?
posted by From Bklyn at 5:34 AM PST - 9 comments

Wassup Holmes!? Famous Last Nerds demonstrate how fun Classical Rap can be. More of their videos: famouslastnerds.com
posted by Surfin' Bird at 1:14 AM PST - 23 comments

Behind Pixar’s string of hit movies, says the studio’s president, is a peer-driven process for solving problems. How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity (alternate print link for those having trouble with the first link), by the co-founder of Pixar and the president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios Ed Catmull. [more inside]
posted by netbros at 1:10 AM PST - 24 comments