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When Parents Won't Cut the Cord. As a reaction to helicopter parents (who read books about the stages of grief so they can cope with their kid's growing up), colleges are literally shutting the gates on parents who can't let go.
comment posted at 5:05 AM on Aug-23-10

Israeli authorities have "reportedly" razed a Bedouin village in Negev.
comment posted at 2:08 AM on Jul-28-10

Three hokey lingerie shots on my bed would take all of five minutes to shoot and upload to Erotic Services, and whenever I had enough business, I could take the ad down. It would be like I—or “Sarah,” the kinky temp who loved to blow off work early and meet men for anonymous “encounters”—had never existed. (NSFW)
comment posted at 11:56 PM on Jul-27-10

Spacegirl Comic by Travis Charest (via concept ships)
comment posted at 10:19 AM on Jul-24-10

Why Back to the Future is secretly horrifying. NSFW, possible trigger alert for use of the "r" word.
comment posted at 7:32 PM on Jul-20-10

Breitbart strikes again. Conservative media activist and propagandist Andrew Breitbart made news again this week, bringing to light apparent video evidence of racism among the NAACP's ranks, in the form of USDA official Shirley Sherrod, who was allegedly caught on tape in a speech to the NAACP, admitting that race had influenced her decisions not to provide assistance to white farm workers. But despite the fact that Sherrod was summarily dismissed from her USDA post as a result of Breitbart's accusations, the complete, unedited footage of the speech reportedly confirms Sherrod's claims that "her comments were taken out of context... that the anecdote was part of a larger story, one in which she explains how she overcame her initial prejudice" and that in fact, the reported incidents took place before Sherrod worked for the USDA, when she worked for the Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund. The white farmers described in the story have since confirmed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that, in fact, Sherrod saved them from bankruptcy. [Via]
comment posted at 6:59 PM on Jul-20-10
comment posted at 8:42 PM on Jul-20-10

A long-standing online problem has been solved: Sarcmark Inc has invented the "sarcasm" indicator.
comment posted at 5:14 AM on Jan-14-10

Attack of the demon squirrel.
comment posted at 11:36 PM on Jan-11-10

OCTOBER 22 IS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY!!!
EVERY YEAR WE GET TOGETHER AND MAKE SALMON FOR TOAST, EVERY YEAR WE GET A CROCKETY BLOAT, EVERY YEAR WE GET DRUNK ON THE DOCKS, AND EVERY YEAR WE HAVE SEX WITH OUR CAPS LOCKS!!!!
comment posted at 10:04 PM on Oct-21-09

Pre-Classic Space , Classic Space, Neo-Classic Space. - Creative Space Lego Design!
comment posted at 11:49 PM on Sep-20-09

"I will not read your fucking script."
comment posted at 6:26 PM on Sep-11-09

Choosing Thomas. Thomas was diagnosed in the womb with trisomy 13, a fatal genetic disorder. T.K. and Deidrea Laux decided to carry him to term and give him what days they could.
comment posted at 5:51 PM on Sep-6-09

Favorite Worst Movies by the writers and readers of The Morning News.
comment posted at 11:39 PM on Jul-23-09

That Lord! He's always coming up with one brilliant idea or another. Godless Comedy from The Beeb's That Mitchell and Webb Look.
comment posted at 2:11 AM on Jul-21-09
comment posted at 2:11 AM on Jul-21-09

The publisher of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies announces that book's follow up in the most awesome way possible.
comment posted at 5:07 PM on Jul-15-09

You've seen the countless "proof" videos You've seen the countless "proof" videos with people counting cash from an overnight carrier. Sums of $3,000, $7,000 and even $20,000 or more in just days. And yet there is still the doubt that cash gifting can give prosperity 2 people.Cash gifting programs have been around for years and will always continue to exist in some form. Technology and the internet have made the activity of cash gifting incredibly accessible and appealing with high-end graphic websites, integrated landing pages, autoresponders, and tracking systems that that track the cash gifts being sent to you by designated overnight confirmation numbers. Prosperity 2 People though? In today's economy cash gifting programs are not a bad idea. Monetary gifts sent by mail is always beneficial to the receiver and more recently the giver. But, does will the activity help you in your current financial disposition? These among other questions are commonly asked when considering the "cash delivered to your door" gifting programs. The proof is in the system and sites like Youtube, Dailymotion, etc. show its possible. Most cash gifting programs do maintain rules and guidelines as it is a gift in itself to be apart of one. A good quality to look for when making decisions on participating in a gifting program. I have reviewed many cash gifting programs and found several components that would produce true prosperity 2 people when involved. First, the presentation of the website should attract like-minded individuals to the community. Second, the website should have landing pages that will capture leads with an integrated autoresponder. Third, there should be multiple levels that a member can participate at. Fourth, training and support should be provided and accessible to every member instantly upon joining. Fifth, a state of the art tracking system that can track your cash gifts. Sixth, and this is key to providing prosperity 2 people immediately, residual gifting or second tier gifting. Where every gift that is sent to your direct members you also receive a portion of that gift providing residual cash gifts continuously. Having these basic components along with a solid marketing plan will set the ground for cash gifting success. Prosperity 2 People will undoubtedly fail if you get involved with one of the many "Gurus" that enlist people into programs, only to abandon them after receiving their money. When this happens, (and it happens more often than not), your left trying to muddle through the world of online marketing on your own. Although not impossible to figure out, it can be frustrating, aggravating and incredibly costly. Prosperity 2 People is an incredibly complete cash gifting program for the internet newbie. P2P comes with your customizable landing page and website, auto responder, lead management system and even call back and ad co-op option. Although these make it easier for the newbie to succeed, it is still vital to have a mentor dedicated to your success. You'll need someone to show you through their own experiences in cash gifting, what does and doesn't work in the world of online marketing. The internet is no place to dive in and try to figure things out on your own. There are simply too many "marketing sources" that are there just to take your money, and produce no results. Be selective when it comes to finding the proper Cash Gifting sponsor. Look for a MENTOR, someone truly interested in YOUR success. Don't be taken in just because someone has pictures or videos of them standing in front of an expensive car, or piles of money. If their focus seems to be what cash gifting does for THEM, rather than what THEY do for their team members... RUN. Gifting was set up and launched with the concept of helping others. I believe that should be the core of ALL gifting programs. When I receive a gift from a team member, that is where MY giving begins. In the form of training, support and assistance of whatever degree it is going to take to help someone succeed. Now I realize that virtually everyone in the online marketing world makes that claim to some degree, and few follow through. I am so committed to my team members success that I even brought in a support staff to assist my team. I truly want to see my team members succeed, and I know that if you see positive results from your efforts earlier and faster your chances of success increase dramatically. The cash gifting community that includes the components mentioned and is highly recommended for your review is Prosperity 2 People.
comment posted at 6:43 PM on Jul-10-09

My Milk Toof
comment posted at 4:30 PM on Jun-7-09

Andrew Gelman recently posted this strange trend in baby naming originally posted on Laura Wattenberg's blog in 2007. Why do so many boys' names now end with the letter "n"?
comment posted at 9:25 AM on May-16-09

Today has turned into a real-life nightmare. I wish I could wake up. This nightmare started 9 months ago and has been recurring ever since.

Designer Jon Engle is being billed $18,000 by stockart.com. Some people are trying to save Jon.
comment posted at 7:59 PM on Apr-7-09
comment posted at 8:46 PM on Apr-7-09
comment posted at 8:58 PM on Apr-7-09

Many places in Victoria are on fire. Victoria's Bushfires can help you keep track of the current situation around Melbourne.
comment posted at 12:38 AM on Feb-9-09

"Because competent mating did not occur," the zoo statement said, veterinarians anesthetized both pandas on Saturday, collected semen from Tian Tian and inserted it into Mei Xiang's uterus. [previously 1 2 3]
comment posted at 9:27 PM on Jan-18-09

I do not want to spend too much time beating a dead war-horse, but your average D&D game consists of a group of white players acting out how their white characters encounter and destroy orcs and goblins, who are, as a race evil, uncivilized, and dark-skinned. To quote Steve Sumner’s essay again, “Unless played very carefully, Dungeons & Dragons could easily become a proxy race war, with your group filling the shoes of the noble white power crusaders seeking to extinguish any orc war bands or goblin villages they happened across.” I would argue with Sumner’s use of the phrase “could become,” and say that unless played very carefully, D&D usually becomes a proxy race war. Any adventurer knows that if you see an orc, you kill it. You don’t talk to it, you don’t ask what it’s doing there - you kill it, since it’s life is worth less than the treasure it carries and the experience points you’ll get from the kill. If filmed, your average D&D campaign would look something like Birth of a Nation set in Greyhawk.

- Race in Dungeons & Dragons by Chris van Dyke, a powerpoint talk given at Nerd Nite. Via Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog where there's a smart discussion going on about the essay.
comment posted at 8:16 PM on Nov-19-08
comment posted at 10:52 PM on Nov-19-08

OCLC, owners of WorldCat, are getting greedy. It's now demanding that every library that uses WorldCat give control over all its catalog records to OCLC. It literally is asking libraries to put an OCLC policy notice on every book record in their catalog. It wants to own every library. It's not just Open Library that's at risk here -- LibraryThing, Zotero, even some new Wikipedia features being developed are threatened. Basically anything that uses information about books is going to be a victim of this unprecedented power[ ]grab. It's a scary thought.
comment posted at 7:32 PM on Nov-13-08

The Doctor is set to regenerate once again as David Tennant calls time on Doctor Who. "When Doctor Who returns in 2010 it won’t be with me" Tennant, widely acknowledged as one of the most popular actors ever to play the Doctor, said. "Now don’t make me cry. The 2009 shows will be my last playing the doctor.”
comment posted at 5:04 PM on Oct-30-08

The clathrate gun hypothesis has been discussed previously, but now might be a good time to start considering it less hypothetical. [via]
comment posted at 9:15 PM on Sep-25-08

Cat-scan.com Cat-Scan.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why.
comment posted at 1:26 AM on Jul-14-08

8 Forgotten Kids Shows Sure to Give You Nightmares
comment posted at 4:47 PM on Jul-13-08

Scientists find monkeys who know how to fish. Apparently, they're not the first. Although they might be the first to do so without tools. I, for one, want some sashimi.
comment posted at 10:04 PM on Jun-10-08

Some advice for Mefites who want to run for Congress: It is probably not a good idea to give a speech at a birthday celebration for Hitler. It is also generally considered tacky to discuss segregation in a positive light. Also, posting anti-Semitic comments, links to David Duke's website, and other scary but interesting articles to your official campaign website is probably not a good idea, even if you actually seem to be a reasonably competent lawyer.
comment posted at 11:26 AM on Apr-25-08

Mefites do it with snark.
comment posted at 10:37 PM on Apr-24-08

Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a pro-Intelligent Design, anti-evolution polemic, arrived in theaters Friday to overwhelmingly negative reviews and anemic ticket sales. In response to the claims made in the film comes Expelled Exposed, a website which seeks to "show you why this movie is not a documentary at all, but anti-science propaganda aimed at creating the appearance of controversy where there is none."
comment posted at 8:34 PM on Apr-20-08
comment posted at 10:15 PM on Apr-20-08
comment posted at 12:33 AM on Apr-21-08

Dr. Seuss 2.0 NYT's blogger, David Pogue, expounds on the un-creative Seussification of 2.0 website names. Entertaining and right-on... except that the Washington Post featured the very same article a week earlier! Ouch.
comment posted at 6:57 PM on Dec-6-07

Australia Votes. Polls have been predicting a Labor win for the past few weeks, and it's beginning to look like it just might happen. But that's not the real sport.
comment posted at 9:06 PM on Nov-24-07

The 100,000th photograph has been scanned into the National Library of Australia's digital database. It is a picture of an oprhaned joey wearing a winter overcoat. But there's still 999,999 other photos for you to peruse. Check out a large selection of them here!
comment posted at 2:22 AM on Nov-14-07

The Quick Red Brown Fox. Tracking how Fox News's headlines change over time.
comment posted at 11:23 PM on Nov-13-07

City 7 is a Half-Life 2 mod of Toronto.
comment posted at 5:04 PM on Nov-6-07
comment posted at 5:05 PM on Nov-6-07

Waterboarding is Torture… Period
comment posted at 4:05 AM on Oct-30-07

What. The. Fuck. The word "fuck" became the subject of congressional debate in 2003, after NBC broadcast the Golden Globe Awards. Bono exclaimed, "This is really, really, fucking brilliant" on the air. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided somewhat surprisingly not to sanction the network for failing to bleep out the word. Explaining its decision, the FCC noted that its (and George Carlin's) guidelines define "indecency" as "material that describes or depicts sexual or excretory organs or activities" and Bono had used fucking as "an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation." Cultural conservatives were outraged. California Representative Doug Ose tried to close the loophole in the FCC's regulations with the filthiest piece of legislation ever considered by Congress. Had it passed, the Clean Airwaves Act would have forbade from broadcast:

the words "shit", "piss", "fuck", "cunt", "asshole", and the phrases "cock sucker", "mother fucker", and "ass hole", compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms).

The episode highlights one of the many paradoxes that surround swearing.
comment posted at 11:31 PM on Oct-10-07
comment posted at 11:31 PM on Oct-10-07

50mm, the Forgotten Lens Why You Should Ditch That Zoom for a Classic 50mm "Normal" Lens.
comment posted at 12:12 AM on Oct-3-07

BBC - The Conspiracy Files 911. A look at the conspiracy culture, internet movie makers, many unresolved questions and some politics. Finally the truth? [Google Video]
comment posted at 11:39 PM on Sep-2-07

BioShock was released today for the PC and XBox 360. Why should you care? Well, it's the 2nd best reviewed game of the last 10 years, it's an interactive commentary on Objectivism, it features a great Art-Deco style and atmospheric sound design, and is the spiritual sequel to one of the best games of all time. If you still don't care, make sure to stay away from Big Daddy.
comment posted at 8:13 AM on Aug-22-07