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[NewsFilter] "Beginning of the End." The death of al Zarqawi, in itself, may have been a bit of a pyrrhic victory, but the latest news is a "treasure trove" of intelligence from al Qa'ida in Iraq. Of course, al Qa'ida in Iraq is largely an open source movement, so they never kept this exactly secret--but now, it's being widely reported that al Qa'ida "sought war between US and Iran." With speculation that al Zaraqwi's death may lead to a drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq, might his death now also defuse tensions with Iran, as well? Did we end two wars in one blow?
comment posted at 7:04 AM on Jun-15-06
comment posted at 7:10 AM on Jun-15-06

An audio illusion called the tritone paradox is based on Shepard Tones, a finite self-similar sequence of tones that seem to contiually rise or fall in pitch. Diana Deutch has found that how you percieve these illusions can be strikingly different from person to person and that most people have some form of pefect pitch.
comment posted at 12:34 PM on Jun-14-06

Superman marries Lois Lane. Superman dies. Batman's back is broken. Robin dies. Spider-Man gets married. But one storyline taboo, revealing one's secret identity, has never been broken with a major comic book character. Until now (big-time spoiler alert).
comment posted at 6:35 AM on Jun-15-06
comment posted at 6:39 AM on Jun-15-06

Explosion at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Interesting to note, this plant which is just a few miles from my hometown remained relatively dormant after the cold war ended.
comment posted at 7:19 PM on Jun-13-06

I know SOMEONE is gonna yell at me for THIS, but I just needed to share it with everyone.

The Passion of the Christ 2: Judgement Day
comment posted at 11:01 AM on Jun-13-06
comment posted at 11:03 AM on Jun-13-06

New analysis of the language and gesture of South America's indigenous Aymara people indicates they have a concept of time opposite to all the world's studied cultures -- the past is ahead of them and the future behind. The morphologically-rich language, of which you can hear samples here, may also prove useful to computer scientists due to its unique ternary logic system.
comment posted at 4:29 PM on Jun-12-06

NYT story about superhigh frequency ringtones. A new ringtone at a frequency of 17 Khz is supposedly inaudible to most adults, and so highschoolers and others are using it to sneak text messages in school, etc. BUT. An mp3 of the tone is included with the story and I can totally hear it, though it hurts my ears. And I am in my 40s. Can others hear it?
comment posted at 1:57 PM on Jun-12-06

Assistive Media is a non-profit organization dedicated to offering audio access to literary works for the blind. They have placed an extensive archive of downloadable magazine articles in mp3 format online, including selections from The New Yorker, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic and American Heritage.
comment posted at 11:09 PM on Jun-11-06

Wolfmother's White Unicorn. Somebody else's White Unicorn (defaced). (first QT, second youtube)
comment posted at 9:32 AM on Jun-9-06

Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and pioneer of the nature documentary, turned 80 last month. To mark the occasion, Britons were asked to choose their favorite Attenborough moment and of all the memorable scenes, his recording of the lyrebird came out on top. In this clip the bird mimics neighboring birds, several cameras, car alarms, and perhaps most impressively, loggers with chainsaws. (wmv, qt)
comment posted at 11:56 AM on Jun-8-06

Et in Arcadia ego (flash). Photographs of the scars of war (Afghanistan/Iraq/Bosnia/genocide/Israel-Palestine/Liberia/refugee camps). Also: Afghanistan (no flash version), Thailand/tourism/raves.
comment posted at 2:02 PM on Jun-5-06

Signs of the Impending Apocalypse. After 25 years , Sonic Youth finally put down their screwdrivers and write a decent song.
comment posted at 4:37 PM on Jun-4-06

Youtube has been hacked.
comment posted at 10:28 PM on Jun-1-06

Covers of your favorite Pixes songs, by other famous musicians!*

*All other famous musicians simulated. Your milage may vary. Please don't shoot the messenger.
comment posted at 9:24 AM on Jun-1-06

This is not resolved! I was depressed that night. I was worried that my girlfriend would leave me. I wanted to kill myself. Whenever I am unhappy, I would call the Samaritans to talk to them in order to reduce the stress. But while I was talking, the passenger behind me tapped my shoulder to tell me not to talk!
comment posted at 10:50 AM on May-31-06

He created Space Ghost, The Herculoids and made Saturdays worth getting up for with his Super Friends. In addition, he was a prolific comics artist. Comics great Alex Toth is dead at 77.
comment posted at 10:46 AM on May-29-06
comment posted at 10:50 AM on May-29-06

Websites as graphs - Metafilter as a graph (java app)
comment posted at 3:14 PM on May-26-06

Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth A fan-made adventure game featuring a SCUMM-based system. A demo is available for download here.
comment posted at 12:31 PM on May-26-06

Mr. Rogers before the Senate in 1969. [video; YouTube]
comment posted at 11:26 AM on May-25-06

Welcome to the world of Frank Kelly Freas (1922-2005), eleven-time Hugo Award-winning illustrator of book and magazine cover and interior art for science fiction, fantasy, the NASA space program, record albums, advertising, and MAD Magazine.
comment posted at 12:07 PM on May-19-06
comment posted at 9:59 AM on May-20-06

Find your celebrity dopelganger. MyHeritage is another site that uses face recognition on photos you upload, but the slick interface in this demo matches you up with one of 3,200 celebrities from the past two centuries which you (supposedly) resemble. You can upload photos with multiple people in them as well, and it will identify all the faces in the shot. I can't vouch for accuracy, but it is entertaining. [Registration required. Try username: metafilter@metafilter.com; pass: metafilter. The site does not appear to save photos that you have uploaded as part of the demo.]
comment posted at 11:33 AM on May-17-06

In the face of the overwhelming problems in this country, President Al Gore took the time last night to appear before the country on NBC and address each issue with the American people.
comment posted at 10:38 AM on May-14-06

Free Chris Daughtry MP3's Before rocker American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry became an American Idol "sure thing" he had a Christian rock band which went by the name Absent Element. Soundclick has four live performances from a 2005 concert in North Carolina. A free registration is required to download some very high quality mp3's, but it is well worth it to hear the. best. rendition. of. Agnus Dei. EVER.
comment posted at 1:01 PM on May-13-06

Dogs In Duds A site that I came across full of pictures of dogs wearing clothes. All the dogs look so sad to me, but its so funny.
comment posted at 12:23 PM on May-12-06

The Little Bird Flies Away animation short by Veronica Ibarra. also, the Cooking Set.
comment posted at 2:15 PM on May-10-06

The Skeletor Show
comment posted at 11:33 AM on May-8-06

In light of this and this, it's time to have a quick chuckle and look back at this (last link .swf 3.81mb)
comment posted at 9:28 AM on May-8-06

A Butterfly with transparent wings you say?
Indeed.
comment posted at 7:57 AM on May-7-06

Newsfilter: CIA director Porter Goss resigns. After taking some of the fall heat for bad intelligence in the months before 9/11, Cheney's "cat's paw" finally gets out of the kitchen.
comment posted at 2:46 PM on May-5-06

37 versions of Stairway To Heaven, including Rolf Harris [mp3], Dolly Parton [mp3], and SCTV's Dave Thomas [mp3] doing a K-Tel ad for, uh, 30 versions of Stairway To Heaven. (See also 32 versions of Ghost Riders In The Sky.)
comment posted at 9:13 AM on May-5-06
comment posted at 9:15 AM on May-5-06
comment posted at 9:37 AM on May-5-06

MusicFilter: You supposedly can't buy it yet. Well, you actually can get it other ways. Flea isn't that pleased about it either.
comment posted at 8:10 AM on May-5-06

Hoth Hell Freezes Over. The madness of King George subsides.
comment posted at 4:50 PM on May-4-06

As part of the yearly white house correspondents dinner party, Steven Colbert steps up to the mike and rips President Bush a new one. Again, again and again. Think John Stewart on Crossfire, and then multiply by 500. I realize that this yearly event is supposed to be a bash-fest, but is this tirade too close to home for Bush? By his reaction and reaction of the stunned crowd, well just watch it already...
comment posted at 3:39 PM on May-1-06

ABC Streams full episodes of Lost, Alias, Desperate Housewives and Commmander in Chief for free in May via flash.
comment posted at 9:22 AM on May-1-06

...Bush has been aggressive about declaring his right to ignore vast swaths of laws -- many of which he says infringe on power he believes the Constitution assigns to him alone ... President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution. ... Long, eyeopening article laying out what laws have been ignored and why. ...Bush has cast a cloud over 'the whole idea that there is a rule of law," because no one can be certain of which laws Bush thinks are valid and which he thinks he can ignore. 'Where you have a president who is willing to declare vast quantities of the legislation that is passed during his term unconstitutional, it implies that he also thinks a very significant amount of the other laws that were already on the books before he became president are also unconstitutional," ...
comment posted at 11:39 AM on Apr-30-06

Better Comix The concept behind this is to use comics from the same day and mix them, good ol cut and paste style, so that they become a tad more funny, depending on your sense of humor.
comment posted at 11:23 AM on Apr-27-06

Yo La Tengo is Murdering the Classics (via). Spontaneous cover magic from the great YLT.
comment posted at 1:23 PM on Apr-27-06

Adult Swim Fix. Streaming full-length Adult Swim episodes twenty-four hours a day online. Seven archival episodes will be available at all times, while premieres will continue to debut on Fridays, two days before they appear on-air.
comment posted at 10:54 AM on Apr-27-06

A few songs about comic strips. Here is Edward Meeker performing "Oh Min!" (mp3 link), a song about Sidney Smith's "The Gumps". Barney Google also had a song or two (mp3 links). Little Orphan Annie is probably the most famous (Real Audio), aside from Popeye.
comment posted at 1:24 PM on Apr-25-06

Jane Jacobs passed away today
comment posted at 12:44 PM on Apr-25-06

i'm not trying to be anyone that I'm not, i'm just a middle class white boy trying to express myself... i'm hoping to get my big record contract... It's just a demo. (mpeg)
comment posted at 10:14 AM on Apr-25-06

"This pizza would be a lot better if I had a mustache." And other stuff from BabyBirdComic.
comment posted at 1:27 PM on Apr-22-06

Trek fans, geeks, meet your new leader!
Rick Berman is out, out, out. JJ Abrams, with Paramount's blessing, is taking over Star Trek for an eleventh journey to the big screen which will apparently have a "Kirk and Spock: The Early Years" flavor.
comment posted at 9:34 AM on Apr-21-06