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Here's a charming interactive site for your kid (or the kid in you): Kusama's World of Dots. Brought to you by the Queensland Art Gallery.
comment posted at 11:14 PM on Mar-17-07

Tim O’Brien – the painter and illustrator, not the writer – is so good with Photoshop (not to mention paintbrushes) that he can make Ronald Reagan cry.
comment posted at 2:13 PM on Mar-16-07
comment posted at 2:14 PM on Mar-16-07

Ron Paul is now officially running for President. Some say his views, especially on Foreign Policy, make him a longshot.
comment posted at 8:49 PM on Mar-15-07

This year, Maryland has been on a path to become the first state to abolish capital punishment, and a bill to repeal the death penalty will be voted on in committee within days. Exonerated death row inmates have been campaigning fervently in support of the bill (including Kirk Bloodsworth, a Marylander who was the first death row inmate ever to be proven innocent by DNA)--and the exonerated are joined by a gamut of other voices that one might not normally expect in the debate. Murder victim family members are vocally supporting abolition. Law enforcement officials, including prosecutors, wardens and police chiefs, are vocally supporting abolition. The Baltimore city council – which presides over the lion’s share of Maryland’s violent crime -- is unanimously in support of abolition. Even Maryland's governor, Martin O’Malley, has taken a bold stance in support of abolishing executions, going so far as to publish an op-ed, "Why I Oppose the Death Penalty," in the Washington Post on the day of the abolition bill’s hearings in Annapolis. And, last but not least, the public is more than 60% in support of replacing the death penalty with life without parole.

So why are so many legislators still supporting death penalty?
Even if the bill doesn’t pass in this session, it seems like Governor O’Malley has nothing to worry about for having come out ahead of the legislature on this issue. It’s the legislatures—in Maryland and elsewhere—that are falling behind, as the entire country backs steadily away from capital punishment.
comment posted at 10:03 AM on Mar-15-07

Sad Sack George Baker's subtly subversive WWII strip.
comment posted at 10:26 PM on Mar-14-07

Gruesomestein's Monsters -- Six new cartoons done in the classic style, posted to YouTube by the genyouwine copyright holder, featuring monsters and ghoulies. For instance, how does a reformed no-longer-wicked witch keep the neighborhood kids from eating her gingerbread house?
comment posted at 12:23 PM on Mar-14-07
comment posted at 12:38 PM on Mar-14-07

At a panel last weekend a major plot point was revealed about the NBC show Heroes (it goes without saying - contains spoilers). To many comic book readers this had more than a familiar similarity to the ending of the widely revered comic book series Watchmen. Stories and themes are repeated throughout history in many mediums, but when is it a unique take, when is it a a homage and when is it theft? And when the medium that is lifted from is a less respected one such as comic books, does that make it more palatable?
comment posted at 11:13 AM on Mar-12-07
comment posted at 11:21 AM on Mar-12-07
comment posted at 11:23 AM on Mar-12-07

On the occasion of her induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, punk poet and musician Patti Smith (no, not this Patti Smith) offers eloquent reflections on the benediction she received from her late husband Fred "Sonic" Smith of MC5, the future of rebellion, and her own question: " Am I a worthy recipient?." Yes, Patti, you are. Some sound and video...
comment posted at 9:14 AM on Mar-12-07
comment posted at 9:50 AM on Mar-12-07

In case you've been living under a rock, South Park started its eleventh season with a bang. CNN reports. (Links on Youtube are going down fast, catch it while you can.)
comment posted at 5:48 PM on Mar-11-07

Viral Marketing Suggestions. At one time, when YouTube was new, ordinary people filled it with interesting content. But only 3 years later, after television content producers have forced them to remove millions of copyrighted video clips, we are starting to see an even more insidious phenomenon: the posting of "phony" videos on YouTube, for marketing purposes. NBC has just been caught posting a bogus parody of their show "Heroes". Not to mention Agency.com's pathetic attempt to get an ad contract with Subway, lonelygirl15, and many more that have yet to be discovered. Best of all, you can now find how-to instructions on marketing websites showing how to use YouTube for viral marketing. People are starting to notice....yet it is becoming more and more commonplace. (And I won't even mention how many MySpace and Facebook pages are viral in nature.)
comment posted at 1:48 PM on Mar-11-07

Is Your Baby Gay? Southern Baptist theologian Albert Mohler has come out to support stem cell research: If a biological basis [for homosexuality] is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.
comment posted at 1:45 PM on Mar-8-07

Who Delayed Roger Rabbit? Rich Drees lays bare the backroom bickering and production studio drama behind one of the 1980s' most successful comedies. For an encore, Drees reviews the unproduced script of Roger Rabbit II: Toon Platoon. Weep for what might have been.
comment posted at 8:36 AM on Mar-8-07

Feds seek to gag D.C. Madam this madam threatens to spill the names about the biggies that used her services and so: [...]government lawyers claim that some discovery documents contain "personal information" about Palfrey's former johns and prostitutes that is "sensitive." The prosecution filing does not detail the nature of this confidential information, though the identity of Palfrey's D.C. customers would surely be cloaked if the protective order was signed by Judge Gladys Kessler[...]
comment posted at 4:34 PM on Mar-7-07

Baby Got Bible , Christian Camp Slingshot, How Old is the Earth?, Christian Clown Training, A Banana, Time Travel, and more at God Tube.
comment posted at 9:39 AM on Mar-5-07

Increased violence linked to scriptures. University of Michigan psychologist Brad Bushman and his colleagues suggest that scriptural violence sanctioned by God can increase aggression, especially in believers.
comment posted at 2:00 PM on Mar-3-07

Coulterfilter: She calls John Edwards a "faggot" speaking at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was thrilled to be speaking before her ("Oh yeah!"), and during her talk she went on to endorse him. At least one conservative blogger isn't pleased with Coulter's act, while a prominent liberal blogger sees this as yet another example of "IOKIYAR" behavior. Gay Republican writer Andrew Sullivan also weighs in: "When you see her in such a context, you realize that she truly represents the heart and soul of contemporary conservative activism, especially among the young."
comment posted at 9:41 PM on Mar-2-07
comment posted at 9:57 PM on Mar-2-07

Don't click this link yet. Think about all 50 United States, and then, when you're ready, click the link. It goes to an ajaxified quiz page, with a timer set to 10 minutes which starts counting down on page load, and a form entry field where you start typing the names of the states. When you get one right it automatically moves to a spontaneously generating list at to the bottom of the page. If the ten minutes elapse & you fail to name all fifty, the ones that you missed are revealed. Okay, now go.
comment posted at 1:44 PM on Mar-2-07
comment posted at 1:45 PM on Mar-2-07

Kent State Professor alleged terrorist? Some say yes, some say no.
comment posted at 11:22 AM on Mar-2-07

The Fonz & Henry Winkler teach us about sexual abuse. Yes, you read correctly.
Special appearances by John Ritter, Fred Flintstone, and a creepy singing guy in overalls.
comment posted at 12:12 PM on Mar-19-07

Dylan Hears a Who! Bob, that is. Caution: autoplaying audio. (Via)
comment posted at 2:00 PM on Feb-27-07

The Hillary Show. For those that base their political ideas on poorly drawn caricatures.
comment posted at 10:31 AM on Feb-27-07
comment posted at 11:08 AM on Feb-27-07
comment posted at 11:19 AM on Feb-27-07
comment posted at 12:10 PM on Feb-27-07

"Tired of the LIBERAL BIAS every time you search on Google and a Wikipedia page appears?" At Conservapedia, a "conservative encyclopedia you can trust," you can learn that "faith" is a concept "exclusive to Christianity," and about how Wikipedia is biased in matters such as its description of the Bell Trade Act of 1946, its gossipy treatment of the private life of NPR reporter Nina Totenberg, and its seeming acceptance of evolution. The Wikipedia bias entry also complains of a "rant" against the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a group for which Conservapedia founder (and son of conservative gadfly Phyllis Schafly) Andrew Schlafly has worked. Signups are here; its take on evolution is criticized here.
comment posted at 5:23 PM on Feb-23-07
comment posted at 6:08 PM on Feb-23-07

Newspaper Blackout Poems "So much thrives on facsimile that when you see the real deal, it has none of the passion and feels like a desperate pose."
comment posted at 9:08 AM on Feb-23-07

Krazy... Katheists? We see plenty of stories about religion in schools crossing the line. For good reason -- it's pretty topical. This time, though, it's an atheist teacher who crosses the line.
comment posted at 9:39 AM on Feb-22-07

Imaginary places in detail: Start with a wonderful overview of megastructures in science fiction and examine a dictionary of 76 locations from recent fantasy novels. Then move on to the interactive maps: Mordor, Narnia, the Simpson's Springfield, England as seen in many stories, New York in fiction, Lovecraft's New England, maps from almost any video game, Star Trek, the Marvel Universe, and the DC Universe.
comment posted at 9:54 PM on Feb-21-07

The truth behind Calvin and Hobbes and this strip are the saddest things ever
comment posted at 12:16 PM on Feb-21-07
comment posted at 12:18 PM on Feb-21-07
comment posted at 12:47 PM on Feb-21-07

For Your Eyes Only? Allegations that the government is reading your e-mails, with the help of AT&T. The latest episode of NOW did a good piece on the NSA's domestic surveillance program (previously discussed here.) It can be viewed on their website. Meanwhile, Canadian human rights attorney Maureen Webb has written a new book on the scope of government surveillance, and found that the use of sophisticated methods to search for terrorists is not identifying the right suspects.
comment posted at 9:25 AM on Feb-21-07

As a teenager, Bernard "Hap" Kliban joked about wanting to join the Air Force to strafe civilians. Instead, he became a fabulously successful cartoonist best known for his Cats. But his non-cat work was perhaps more influential, and certainly funnier. Gallery 1, gallery 2, gallery 3. (many NSFW)
comment posted at 11:30 AM on Feb-4-07

Robert Krulwich tells the tale of Dr. Alan Rabinowitz and his friend... "Dawi told Alan the terrible secret that explained why there were so few Taron (left in the world). And then Alan told Dawi a secret of his own..." (includes audio link)
comment posted at 5:50 PM on Feb-3-07

iConcertCal - The most awesomest iTunes plugin ever--tells you when bands you have MP3s for are playing your town. {via an email from this dude.}
comment posted at 8:57 AM on Feb-1-07

According to one colleague, Senator Obama is "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." For what it's worth, Senator Biden says that Senator Obama was not insulted by the remark, but no public reaction from his presumably inarticulate or non-bright or unclean counterparts yet. Can we get senators to stop saying stupid things about black people? Can we at least get everyone to stop using "articulate" as the stock compliment for people of color in positions of political power?
comment posted at 5:15 PM on Jan-31-07

A hefty chunk of Boston was paralyzed today in reaction to the discovery of numerous devices consisting of circuit boards attached to girders. The ones that have been found have been disabled. The subway is crippled; numerous lines have been shut down and been replaced by emergency bus service as authorities root out the remaining instances of what could be bombs! Here is a photo one of these nefarious devices in action.
comment posted at 1:05 PM on Jan-31-07

Terrorism finger puppets! Uncanny crocheted likenesses of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, Ahmadinejad and George W. Bush.
comment posted at 12:07 PM on Jan-31-07

Was 9/11 really that bad?
comment posted at 3:51 PM on Jan-28-07

Back by unpopular demand Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), the man who brought us the Tubes, now brings us the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, otherwise known as DOPA Jr. Because communicating with the Internets is a dangerous thing indeed.
comment posted at 5:09 PM on Jan-26-07

How come we can't get these? On Feb 9th there are two sets of Beatles stamps being released in the UK. Jealous? I am.
comment posted at 11:32 AM on Jan-26-07
comment posted at 3:55 PM on Jan-26-07