Written in 1967 by Bob Dylan, it was originally quiet, lowkey... and vaguely menacing. But when Jimi Hendrix redefined it the following year, even Dylan knew that the song had changed forever.

Since then, it's been covered (over and over again), praised almost as often, analyzed, referenced, and, of course, found to be encoded in the minds of Cylons.

Originally released 40 years ago, erm, yesterday: All Along the Watchtower.
posted to MetaFilter by John Kenneth Fisher at 7:16 PM on December 28, 2007 (41 comments)

As Wolfdaddy put it last time we did this: "Yeah, like we didn't know that already." - So as the Glass Closet gets a tad smaller, might we be rapidly approaching that long hoped-for "tipping point" where those inside the glass no longer feel the need to play word games and dance around who they are, instead of standing up to be counted?
posted to MetaFilter by John Kenneth Fisher at 9:09 PM on May 31, 2007 (65 comments)

All those things I can do. All those powers. And I couldn't even save him.
posted to MetaFilter by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:28 AM on August 31, 2006 (27 comments)

"...I don't know who you are. Or whether you're a man or a woman. I may never see you or cry with you or get drunk with you. But I love you. I hope that you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and that things get better, and that one day people have roses again. I wish I could kiss you."

--Valerie
posted to MetaFilter by John Kenneth Fisher at 7:44 PM on July 24, 2005 (38 comments)

For 170 years, crossing the Channel from the UK to France would have brought you 11 days forward in time, and crossing back would have brought you 11 days earlier. Why? Because the Church of England wasn't about to adopt a new Calendar instituted by a Catholic pope. After all, if the old style was good enough for Caesar.... In fact, it took over 300 years for the new Gregorian Calendar to come into use throughout Europe, causing, no doubt, more than a few missed lunch dates as people forgot to convert between them as they traveled. There are, of course, many other calendars in use around the world, and no shortage of people suggesting that let's do the time warp again.
posted to MetaFilter by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:47 AM on January 30, 2005 (16 comments)

What happens when 7 disposable cameras are released into the wild, passed from stranger to stranger, and mailed back home? Starting with "Emily", and continuing for several Tuesdays to come, Kevin Fox finds out. [slightly more inside]
posted to MetaFilter by John Kenneth Fisher at 1:13 PM on April 24, 2004 (30 comments)