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Urim and Thummim were a mystical medium used by ancient Israelites to divine God's will and, according to some interpretations, to distinguish sinners from non-sinners. Todd Walker believes he has found the Urim and Thummim (in a Goodwill Superstore in Nashville, TN). He would like to share this miracle with you. Quicktime trailer
comment posted at 11:34 AM on Oct-4-08

"One dude's quest to save democracy!" Free for All! is a new documentary about the 2004 Ohio election results, which decided the presidential winner. It covers some familiar ground, but also a lot of details you might have missed. You can see it in theaters on October 8, or view it online right now. Here's Roger Ebert's review.
comment posted at 11:30 AM on Oct-4-08

Back in 1963, a TV special called "Folk Songs and More Folk Songs" aired, which featured a cross section of the "folk" artists who were at that time just beginning to receive wider media exposure. Aside from the squeaky-clean, white bread embarrassment of groups like The Brothers Four, the show redeemed itself with performances by a very young Bob Dylan, who sang The Ballad of Hollis Brown (with banjo and bass accompaniment) and Man of Constant Sorrow. And here's two more very early Dylan TV appearances, from Canada, 1964: A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall and Girl From the North Country. Here's the same Girl From the North Country performed years later, once again on broadcast TV, in duet with Johnny Cash, from the Johnny Cash Show.
comment posted at 5:25 AM on Oct-4-08

Charity Navigator is most interesting for the CEO salaries, but non-profits are a huge segment of society. Melissa Data lists all the organizations with nonprofit status for your zip. This is an excellent rant on one of them.
comment posted at 5:51 AM on Oct-4-08

Constantine's Sword (google video) A former priest's personal journey through the tangled and sometimes violent history between Christians and Jews.
comment posted at 5:33 AM on Oct-3-08

The biggest show in town is Huckleberry Hound... and 50 years ago today, The Huckleberry Hound Show debuted. On a budget of $2,800 per half hour, this was the show that truly brought animation to TV... and limited to animation... and Daws Butler to fame as a voice actor.
comment posted at 2:16 PM on Oct-2-08

Peter Nalitch [Russia's “homegrown star to match Borat”] has penned the ultimate cheesy Eastern song:
gitar, come to my buduar
gitar, jump to my yaguar baby
you have a possibility play it with me
comment posted at 12:24 PM on Oct-1-08

Oct. 1 marks the 100th birthday of Ford's Model T. With its optional windshield, gas lamps, and innovative left-side steering wheel, it ushered in an age of automotive marvels. The Model T left a legacy of mass production, user mashups, and affordable cars for everyone. It may have been one of the worst things to ever happen to the planet.
comment posted at 4:55 AM on Oct-1-08

Woody Allen interview in New York Magazine For its 40th anniversary New York Magazine scored an interview with one of the icons of American cinema, the filmmaker most associated with the city with the possible exception of Martin Scorsese
comment posted at 1:45 PM on Sep-29-08

A musician passed away just the other day. In all likelihood you never knew his name. But you've probably heard him, no exaggeration, on thousands of occasions. He was drummer Earl Palmer, and some of the thousands of songs he propelled with his versatile grooves and masterful sense of time include Tutti Frutti and Lucille, La Bamba, Let's Go Get Stoned, I Don't Need No Doctor, Unchained Melody, You've Lost That Loving Feeling... the list goes on and on. Oh, and there's the TV themes he drummed on, like say, Mission Impossible. And here you can see New Orleans native Earl demonstrating how he put the beat under Professor Longhair's classic Tipitina and on Fats Domino's I'm Walkin'. He was one superb rhythmist. Au revoir, Earl Palmer.
comment posted at 6:29 AM on Sep-28-08
comment posted at 7:38 AM on Sep-28-08

Captain Beefheart documentary BBC, 1997, narrated by John Peel.
comment posted at 8:27 AM on Sep-28-08

The Great Schlep. Sarah Silverman explains why you should get your fat Jewish ass on a plane to Florida to convince your grandparents to vote for Obama.
comment posted at 6:31 PM on Sep-26-08

“In the condition I was in, it assumed at the time the quality of a beacon, a light on the far shores of the murk; what's more, it was proof that there was something left to express artistically besides nihilism and destruction.” Lester Bangs on the topic of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks which began recording exactly 40 years ago today in Century Sound Studios NYC.
comment posted at 4:33 AM on Sep-25-08

“Another Rosenberg Executed”? Classical music critic Donald Rosenberg may be the reigning expert on the Cleveland Orchestra, having written an entire book on the esteemed ensemble. But failure to fawn over conductor Franz Welser Most has gotten him booted off his newspaper’s classical music beat. People are beginning to notice…
comment posted at 11:21 AM on Sep-23-08

Welcome to my Study.
comment posted at 4:57 PM on Sep-22-08

Body parts in music: Skinny Legs - Soul Finger - Into My Arms - Fingertips - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Skinny Leg Blues - These Arms of Mine - My Pal Foot Foot - (Not Just) Knee Deep - Good Foot - Legs - Toes - Dope Nose - No Nose Job - Pick Yer Nose - Yummy Yummy Yummy (I got love in my tummy) - Lips Like Sugar - Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain - Sunshine On My Shoulder - Grandma's Hands - I Want To Hold Your Hand - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See - Watch My Feet - Protect Ya Neck - Make Yo Backbone Slip - Baby Got Back - I Like Small Butts - Stomp 'Em in the Nuts and, of course, Punch 'Em in the Dick. [NOTE: see hoverovers for link descriptions]
comment posted at 4:34 AM on Sep-20-08

Has there been a media blackout in the wake of Hurricane Ike? The following remarkable exchange between a local reporter and TX Governor Rick Perry (during a press conference) regarding the restricted access to the Bolivar Peninsula suggests Federal officials have still not allowed news helicopters to view the devastation in that area. That the peninsula remains restricted for returning residents is perhaps understandable, given the destruction, but it is less clear why media access to the area should remain restricted.
comment posted at 6:47 PM on Sep-19-08

Pitchfork television is featuring "The Gits: Great American Rock and Rock Band" (music embedded) for the next week.
comment posted at 6:55 PM on Sep-19-08

sandbag.org.uk is a not-for-profit website that allows members to buy up surplus "permits to pollute" that form the currency of the European Union's emissions trading scheme (or EU ETSs). Members can then "retire" them so that they cannot continue to be traded between the industrial polluters - cement, steel and car manufacturers etc - forced by EU regulation to operate within the system. "I suppose it's a bit like burning money in front of someone so they can't spend it on something bad," says the founder, Bryony Worthington, to the Guardian.
comment posted at 4:23 AM on Sep-19-08

"At least once in your life you should read the Bible all the way through because it does not say what you expect it to say, no matter what you expect it to say. Here is the translation of the Bible you want to read: The Message. This new street-wise paraphrase is looser than a translation and so irks purists. But it is storming Christian campuses and youth groups with its boldness, readability, and strong vernacular. Translated by one amazing guy, it's as far from old King James as one can imagine. For those who find the Bible warmed-over old news, The Message is like reading it for the first time. --KK" (full text)
comment posted at 4:53 PM on Sep-18-08

Black & white films to be remembered.
comment posted at 6:46 PM on Sep-15-08

Have the wheels come off the straight talk express? At least one sleeping giant woke up today: the NYT finally gives Sarah Palin a thorough vetting and the results aren't pretty. The McCain campaign's aggressive - and many say dishonest - tactics in promoting Palin may have sparked the beginnings of a media backlash. Camp McCain's reaction: We don't care and intend to stay on offense. And about that offense, they will soon have some help: Group With Swift Boat Alumni Readies Ads Attacking Obama. How low will things go? At this week's Values Voters Summit, 'Obama Waffles' with racial stereotypes were all the rage.
comment posted at 6:29 AM on Sep-14-08

She's an Ardent Democrat And boy, did she let her feelings be known through her work. Here's her website(NSFW).
comment posted at 5:20 AM on Sep-13-08

As in most religions, Buddhism's pantheon of deities and saints has been male dominated. The preeminent exception to this is Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion, also called Guan Yin or Kannon. She is the female form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, who underwent a gender shift after being popularized in China. She has inspired amazing forms of worship.
comment posted at 5:41 PM on Sep-12-08

80's Christian band, Sonseed sing about Jesus (YT). A great find says Doug. Not so fast say others.
comment posted at 6:10 PM on Sep-12-08

Okay then, How To Destroy The Earth, More Or Less
comment posted at 6:39 PM on Sep-11-08

10-year-old Dalton Sherman of Dallas, Texas is an impressive young public speaker. (SLYT)
comment posted at 4:25 AM on Sep-11-08

Ed Rondthaler on english pronounciation. (Quicktime Video)
comment posted at 5:51 PM on Sep-6-08

'There are two Americas - separate, unequal, and no longer even acknowledging each other except on the barest cultural terms. In the one nation, new millionaires are minted every day. In the other, human beings no longer necessary to our economy, to our society, are being devalued and destroyed' David Simon on The Escalating Breakdown Of Urban Society Across The US
comment posted at 3:44 PM on Sep-6-08
comment posted at 4:22 PM on Sep-6-08
comment posted at 5:55 PM on Sep-6-08

Apparently, this kind of thing happens all the time in Hamilton, Ontario.
comment posted at 4:48 AM on Sep-6-08

Virtual Vaudeville [shockwave] Watch a 3D simulation of legendary comedian Frank Bush in a vaudeville performance from a variety of perspectives. Switch between any of eight perspectives at any time and read the extensive hypermedia notes to gain a richer understanding of the performance in its historical context.
comment posted at 5:29 AM on Sep-6-08

Mummy News : All that's new with mummies. Well... not exactly "new."
comment posted at 5:31 AM on Sep-1-08

The End Of All Things.
comment posted at 1:57 PM on Aug-31-08

The Memphis Belle, the first B-17F Flying Fortress to complete 25 combat missions, is in the process of being restored.
comment posted at 4:44 PM on Aug-28-08

Newcomers, with the zeal of recent converts, are often the most vocal in resisting change to the neighborhood they have just discovered. An exploration of NIMBYism. If not in your backyard, then whose? Probably a low-income minority group. Opposition to affordable housing is often thinly-veiled racism. How NIMBYism affects a seven-year old boy on LA's skid row.
comment posted at 7:32 PM on Aug-25-08

The BBC has a new sketch show, called Wrong Door. It's very heavy on CGI - indeed, the official blurb calls it 'a parallel world where the effects you see in TV and movies are real'. And it's funny - check out the trailers on YouTube. And it has Brian Blessed and a spaceship shaped like a giant silver cock and balls. Really, what's not to love? But the best bit isn't in the show,
comment posted at 1:18 PM on Aug-24-08

That young British tourists vacationing in Europe, especially (but not exclusively) in southern Europe during the summer months, often have a nasty reputation for disorderly displays of public drunkenness , lewdness and hooliganism is not exactly news (see here, here, and--for a somewhat related old mefi thread--here), but lately the situation may be getting worse (see here, here, and here). But should the British be singled out? Some say yes.
comment posted at 1:43 PM on Aug-24-08
comment posted at 3:58 PM on Aug-24-08

Live from Daryl's House A monthly webcast wherein Daryl Hall invites musical friends and colleagues to play with him at his home and on the road. The current episode features Montreal-based electrofunk band Chromeo. Free signup required to view previous episodes: (1) Daryl Hall (2) Daryl Hall and John Oates (3) Daryl on a Wurlitzer (4) Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes (5) KT Tunstall (6) Daryl and T Bone Burnett in Austin (7) Chuck Prophet and Mutlu (8) Daryl, T Bone and Nick Lowe in London (9) Monte Montgomery
comment posted at 6:44 AM on Aug-23-08

Atlantic Yards is the largest project Frank Gehry, now seventy-eight, has ever undertaken. And if it proves to be his last large project, it will be a fitting capstone to a career utterly blind to the public function of architecture. For how better to assert your dedication to personal expression over context than to have your distinct visual style serve as the emblem for the death of two Brooklyn neighborhoods?

Charles Taylor discusses the anti-humanism of Modern architecture. [Via] [Previously]
comment posted at 1:36 PM on Aug-21-08

Ret. Col. Andrew Bacevich speaks to Bill Moyers (transcript) about the American empire and his new book "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism."
comment posted at 1:52 PM on Aug-18-08
comment posted at 7:18 PM on Aug-18-08

Bluegrass Grows in Golden Gate Park. The line-up for the 8th annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival has been announced for the first weekend of October in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, its traditional location since its inception in 2001.
comment posted at 7:27 PM on Aug-17-08

Legendary record man and music producer Jerry Wexler died on August 15, at the age of 91. His keen insight, and his deep love and appreciation for the artists he worked with resulted in an extraordinary enriching of American music.
comment posted at 6:03 AM on Aug-17-08

Let the Swift Boating begin! Resident conservative psychopath Jerome Corsi concocts another misleading tome of falsehoods about our boy Obama. Media Matters is on top of it but can't stop the thing from selling like hotcakes. How annoying is that?
comment posted at 5:45 AM on Aug-13-08

Guitarist and banjo player Erik Darling died last Sunday at age 74. His arrangements of traditional songs played a significant role in the folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
comment posted at 5:39 AM on Aug-9-08

John Edwards admits affair with campaign staffer. John Edwards did not father a love-child by Rielle Hunter, a 42 year-old campaign videographer. That was Andrew Young, a married Edwards campaign staffer. Edwards has not taken a paternity test, but he says that the timing of his own affair with Ms. Hunter rules out the possibility that he is the father.
comment posted at 4:04 PM on Aug-8-08