Nessun Dorma : Potts vs. Pavarotti - While Pavarotti's version is generally thought to be one of the best (though some might claim that honor for Corelli) this unassuming mobile phone salesman from South Wales pulls off an amazing performance.
posted to MetaFilter by Liosliath at 7:54 PM on June 12, 2007 (74 comments)

Paul Westerberg Puts Screwdriver Through Hand. Could be sidelined for up to a year, says friend Jim Walsh, who originally reported the accident.
posted to MetaFilter by Liosliath at 11:46 PM on December 24, 2006 (31 comments)

Pangolins attain official "cute" status : Since Jonson was kind enough to share the Giant Amazonian Centipede, I thought an equally fascinating creature such as the pangolin (scaly anteater) deserved its own post. It's been mentioned in passing, but no one has drawn attention to the fact that it looks like a walking pine cone (YouTube), that the babies are carried on the mother's tail for several months, and that they come from a family (Pholidota) with only seven living species.

Of course, like nearly everything else on Earth, it is eaten or used as "medicine" by the Chinese, and the combination of deforestation/being eaten as bushmeat has reduced its numbers in Africa.

Unlike the centipede, it's probably not nightmare-inducing, but I don't think I'd want to trip over the giant pangolin on a dark night - especially since they can be up to six feet long. It's a beautiful animal, even inspiring poetry in some.
posted to MetaFilter by Liosliath at 5:45 PM on December 6, 2006 (32 comments)