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July 5

Racism is over!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 8:42 PM - 38 comments

Light-Test: a home for all of our light tests. A website dedicated to pictures of photography assistants at work. Sort of.
posted by ColdChef at 7:13 PM - 17 comments

Merge Records, the independent record label founded by Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of Superchunk, turns 20 this year. All Things Considered focuses on how they stand out from other labels by turning profits in these trying economic times. They are throwing a four-day festival this month, XX Merge, in North Carolina where it all began. Stand-out acts for the festival include M. Ward, The Magnetic Fields, The Clientele, Superchunk, and the biggest act promoted by the label, Spoon.
posted by educatedslacker at 5:30 PM - 31 comments

Prattville, Alabama, is home to the Cross Garden of W. C. Rice. Pour yourself a cold drink and take a tour through this Flickr gallery. Make that drink ice water, as YOU WILL DIE, YOU DO NOTHING TO GO TO HELL, and TO LATE IN HELL FIRE WATER.
posted by Legomancer at 4:45 PM - 51 comments

A thousand echos: Bells on Sunday from BBC Radio 4. Campanology is a dying art, despite having loyal devotees. Evan Davis learns how it's done. Here's a modern introduction to bell ringing; here's something a bit older. [more inside]
posted by Helga-woo at 4:14 PM - 6 comments

Why chicks cry. Images of women and girls crying, taken from DC romance comics 1957 to 1968. [more inside]
posted by paduasoy at 3:52 PM - 33 comments

Churchyard Entertainment. Mad woman interview. Cave song. Three extracts from Book of Days, a 1988 film by composer, singer and choreographer Meredith Monk. Her work was explored by Peter Greenway in his 1983 documentary Four American Composers. [more inside]
posted by homunculus at 1:46 PM - 5 comments

1/3 of open ocean shark species faces extinction, according to the IUCN. A recent report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Shark Specialist group shows that nearly 1/3 of open ocean shark species face extinction. These sharks are essential to keeping ocean ecosystems in balance, and we've already seen some of the devastating effects of catastrophically decreased shark populations. Shark advocate Wolfgang Leander offers his thoughts on this crisis, and also provides the full text of an article about this IUCN report.
posted by WhySharksMatter at 1:33 PM - 33 comments

Studio 360's Gay Flag Makeover delivered this wonderful Equal Marriage flag: it only includes stars for the states that treat gays and lesbians like full-fledged human beings.
posted by anotherpanacea at 10:25 AM - 78 comments

A well-designed flag The US flag is made up of two distinct elements: Stars and Stripes. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed its Flag Resolution which described the flag only in general terms. "Resolved that the flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation." Nothing in the resolution dictated how the stars and stripes were to be arranged, resulting in some interesting designs. [more inside]
posted by jazon at 9:33 AM - 39 comments

The principles of Harmonics were discovered by Pythagoras c.587-c.507 B.C. during travels to Egypt and throughout the ancient world. Hans Kayser made a profound philosophic study of harmonics in the 20th century. Algorithmic composition is the technique of using harmonic algorithms to create music. Drew Lesso has been creating algorithmic music since 1975. Samples like Crystal, Constellations, or Planet Earth demonstrate the math behind the music. Over the years, Lesso has collaborated with many other musicians and poets to create an airy, evolutionary legacy.
posted by netbros at 8:21 AM - 19 comments

An NYT primer on MN politics A quick, breezy explanation for those wondering, "WTF?" about a state that has elected anyone from Bachmann to Ventura to Franken. You betcha.
posted by ShadePlant at 7:05 AM - 40 comments

Early this morning, Two monorail trains collided at Walt Disney World, causing the death of one of the drivers. The Walt Disney World Monorail System first opened in 1971 with two routes servicing The Magic Kingdom, and then expanded to a third line servicing Epcot in 1982. This is the first incident resulting in a fatality in 38 years of operation. The most serious incident previously was a fire in 1985 caused by tire failure in which two cars were burned badly, but there were no injuries. The monorail trains have numerous safety features, including a "Moving-blocklight anti-collision system", referred to as MAPO (the term was coined by Walt Disney himself, who formed a new company to deal with Disneyland's transportation system directly from the profits made by Mary Poppins). As of this morning, the monorail system at Walt Disney World is out of service pending investigation.
posted by Lokheed at 7:02 AM - 59 comments

An expose of non-vegan ingredients in pancakes at LA Vegan Thai inspired the QuarryGirl.Com writers to conduct their own extremely thorough investigation of LA vegan restaurants, testing their meals for traces of casein, egg, and shellfish. Over $1000 and a chain of interviews up to Taiwan later, they find that half the restaurants aren't as vegan as they claim, with half registering Positive or High and one registering Overload. Some restaurants vowed to conduct their own tests or requested further assistance; one banned them from the establishment.
posted by divabat at 1:03 AM - 221 comments

Clothes made of ceramic shards from the Ming, Yuan, Qing and Song Dynasties by Li Xiaofeng, a 43-year-old Beijing artist who has found a way to link his contemporary work with traditional Chinese 10th Century art. Some of the porcelain bits were salvaged from the roof tiles of the emperor’s palace. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 12:57 AM - 12 comments

July 4

On a windswept plateau near the foothills of the Sahand Mountains in northern Iran stands the grave of a martyr. An American presbyterian minister who fought and died for the Constitutionalist cause in Iran 100 years ago, Howard Baskerville is still revered by Iranians today.
posted by empath at 11:42 PM - 6 comments

They've been rumoured to be an item for some time, but in X-Factor #45 Rictor and Shatterstar, formerly of X-Force (the most 90s comic of all time), finally kissed - giving the comics world two more confirmed gay superheroes and making the X-Men Universe Relationship Map out of date (Shatterstar creator Rob Liefeld has however vowed to undo it). Meanwhile over at DC flagship title Detective Comics is now fronted by the new lesbian Batwoman - ironically a character who was introduced to make Batman seem more hetro.
posted by Artw at 10:31 PM - 87 comments

A family tries to cope after their son is killed for being gay Remarkable family. Interesting, layered documentary but bad translation.
posted by hooptycritter at 5:05 PM - 36 comments

September 16 1984, a television show like no other swept onto American screens via NBC. Yes, that is correct, 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of Miami Vice. [more inside]
posted by hippybear at 3:48 PM - 80 comments

Failed bank takeovers by the FDIC continue to increase at an alarming rate in 2009 (7 this past thursday, 52 so far in 2009) Here's an interview with a bank CEO who bought a failed bank for some insider info into how the process of buying failed banks works (this is the bank he bought). Via calculated risk. Previously
posted by jourman2 at 2:47 PM - 8 comments

Something never before seen on the Internet: culture, morality, and patriotism! (SLYT) In honor of July 4th. We couldn't just put it on the American part of the Web. Sorry.
posted by elfgirl at 11:09 AM - 37 comments

When little Akira Tamamoto fronted the Japanese kinderpop combo Finger 5, his miles of fringe and tinted Robert Evans shades drove the little girls mad. Here was one of the most peculiar manifestations of the bubblegum era: a pack of overworked kids from Indiana, filtered through the Motown hit machine, beamed out to the international mass media, reaching Okinawa, where the Tamamoto boys' pop had a bar with a stage. They were huge. [more inside]
posted by Scram at 10:43 AM - 14 comments

Operation Midnight Climax is a new web series about how the CIA used prostitutes to test LSD on unsuspecting American citizens. "Operation Midnight Climax was a CIA mind-control research program that began in the 1950's. The project consisted of CIA-run safehouses in San Francisco, Marin and New York. It was established in order to study the effects of LSD on unconsenting individuals. Prostitutes on the CIA payroll were instructed to lure clients back to the safehouses, where they were given a wide range of substances, including LSD, and monitored behind two-way mirrors." [Via]
posted by homunculus at 10:00 AM - 71 comments

you watch, because you can't stop. MLYT [more inside]
posted by HuronBob at 9:11 AM - 56 comments

Photographer Robert Buelteman has recently published Signs of Life, a visually stunning portfolio of high-voltage photograms of plant life (via Wired).
posted by gruchall at 8:34 AM - 2 comments

With the long holiday weekend, there's plenty of time for cooking... and eating. So, a few food blogs for your perusal. The Food In My Beard, from antipasto to zucchini. Macheesmo, learning to be confident in the kitchen. The Pioneer Woman Cooks, more from this woman who channels Lucy and Ethel. Chez Pim, chronicling her globetrotting adventures, and misadventures, in the world of all things edible.
posted by netbros at 7:56 AM - 15 comments

Have Love, Will Travel is a song with an instantly recognisable opening that was originally recorded by Richard Berry in 1959 and subsequently covered by The Sonics, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Crazyhead, Bruce Springsteen, Jim Belushi & Dan Akroyd, The Black Keys and at least two ukulele duos to name a few. (single song, MLYTP)
posted by slimepuppy at 5:45 AM - 20 comments

July 3

How to properly open a bottle of bubbly with a saber is an awesome entry from the French Culinary Institute's tech blog. Features a detailed video how-to with 1000 frames per second super slo-mo shots of proper saber technique. Impress your drunken friends at your next party with the ultimate sommelier trick!
posted by mathowie at 11:09 PM - 67 comments

After 30 years of operation, Compuserve Information Service has shut down. [more inside]
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:02 PM - 70 comments

Paul Solman examines how the number of jobless people who fall outside of official unemployment counts (video) offer a different picture of the nation's economic recovery. Transcript here. [more inside]
posted by gman at 7:03 PM - 41 comments

The Art of Kevin Van Aelst
posted by hypersloth at 4:06 PM - 12 comments

Bollywood He-man (SLYT)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:52 PM - 21 comments

HOOPESTON is documentary in four acts by synedyne, the people who did the This Is My Milwaukee ARG (MeFi post). It's about the decline of tiny town in Illinois and the strange religion that moved in and called it home.
posted by arcolz at 3:32 PM - 15 comments

It's Seurat by me. Iconic album covers by the Beatles and the Clash. Mixed media (a metric buttload of Rubik's cubes shown in Dailymotion video). (via)
posted by maudlin at 2:54 PM - 11 comments

Russia's Gazprom and Nigeria's oil company NNPC are forming a joint venture. Hmmmm...what do you call such a thing? GazGeria? Nah, Nigeria should come first. How 'bout NIGAZ? Perhaps unsurprisingly, some people have a problem with this.
posted by codswallop at 2:26 PM - 42 comments

Paul Romer: A Theory of History, with an Application - "His economic theory of history explains phenomena such as the constant improvement of the human standard of living by looking primarily at just two forms of innovative ideas: technology and rules." (previously, via) [more inside]
posted by kliuless at 1:11 PM - 10 comments

Sarah Palin will resign from her position as Alaska Governor. ;-)
posted by Stewriffic at 12:58 PM - 1011 comments

Shreveport rapper Hurricane Chris performs for the Louisiana State Legislature.
posted by TrialByMedia at 11:14 AM - 33 comments

"Innocuous onboard flirting is condoned: Emirates' rules require attendants to politely accept a business card or phone number if it's proffered by a passenger." Inside the life of an Emirates Airlines Flight Attendant.
posted by Heliochrome85 at 11:05 AM - 28 comments

"We call it cyber-bullying and we don't have a law to address it." In the matter of the United States v. Drew (pdf), the misdemeanor charges against Lori Drew have been overturned. Judge George Wu noted that violations of the Terms and Services of a website cannot be considered a crime. A Congresswoman has drafted a bill (pdf) to fill in the gaps, allowing for future cyber-bullying convictions. Previously: (1, 2, 3, 4) [more inside]
posted by jabberjaw at 9:02 AM - 55 comments

Rest Stops, R.I.P.
posted by JeffL at 8:13 AM - 78 comments

Drawing and storytelling in sand.
posted by dmd at 8:02 AM - 25 comments

Hibi no Neiro by Sour [more inside]
posted by Dr-Baa at 7:23 AM - 16 comments

Ten years ago today, Mark Sandman died on stage during a Morphine concert at the Giardini del Principe in Palestrina, Italy. His music and its impact has not always received the type of attention normally given to rock stars tragically struck down in their prime, let alone one this brilliant. [more inside]
posted by allen.spaulding at 6:35 AM - 48 comments

In February of 2009, a Canadian teen cut a scathing diss track from the depths of his Batman-and-South-Park bedecked crib calling out 50 Cent for his lack of streed cred. Not one to take a callout lightly, Fiddy has responded. (via gawker)
posted by skammer at 12:57 AM - 51 comments

July 2

Afterbirth for Dinner (Time Magazine, NSFW or appetite) [more inside]
posted by Ndwright at 11:35 PM - 83 comments

Geisha is robot.
posted by youarenothere at 8:39 PM - 63 comments

Machu Picchu Post. Cute animation about an air mail pilot in the Andes and his strange encounter with a boy and his llama. [Via]
posted by homunculus at 7:32 PM - 10 comments

"Suddenly there was this amazing silence. The plane was gone. I must have been unconscious and then came to in midair. I was flying, spinning through the air... Over 37 years ago Juliane Koepcke survived a two mile free fall, landing virtually unscathed in the middle of the rainforest. But that wasn't the end of her ordeal. She spent ten days in the juggle before finding rescue. [more inside]
posted by Autarky at 6:58 PM - 44 comments

Food, photography, and a Vespa [more inside]
posted by HuronBob at 6:11 PM - 15 comments

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