March 31
Yukio Mishima led a remarkable life: in addition to being an internationally renowned writer, he was also an actor, a filmmaker, a gay icon, a bodybuilding exhibitionist(possibly slightly NSFW), and leader of a paramilitary organization. Yet, all of this is often overshadowed by the even more remarkable way he ended his life. [more inside]
posted by a louis wain cat at 10:52 PM PST - 32 comments

The Puppet Rapist show on Channel 102 Can a convicted puppet rapist change his ways? Only one new show, Puppet Rapist, dares to confront this new social dilemma. You should start with the first episode. (.mov link) You can talk to the show's creator on this somethingawful thread or find out more about the show's production here
posted by clockworkjoe at 9:18 PM PST - 44 comments

Chic-a-go-go is an all-ages dance party that airs weekly on local access in Chicago, hosted by Miss Mia and Ratso, a teenage rat puppet. Costumed hipsters, youngsters and oldsters shake their groove things in a sparsely decorated studio, often while musical guests lip-synch their hits. Ratso gets to interview some real legends too. (Although Lemmy dissed him, and Vanilla Ice was too freaked out.) They've spawned at least one imitator. This Saturday, they'll be taping their tenth anniversary show. (More inside)
posted by hydrophonic at 7:31 PM PST - 16 comments

The History of the Metropolitan Police offers a useful overview of both policework and assorted Shocking Crimes in nineteenth-century London. But there are so many more Victorian detectives--not to mention Victorian murderers--lurking about on the net. Sneak a peek at Charles Booth's notebooks, which record his walks with various London police officers, or read Charles Dickens' famous account of a night out with Inspector Charles Field (who later inspired Bleak House's Inspector Bucket). Put John Mapp on trial. Read some broadsides. Try to avoid Dr. Cream and Mary Ann Cotton. Executions, anyone? The Victorian Dictionary reprints a number of Victorian newspaper articles about criminal activity (click on "crime" to see a detailed listing). Of course, you can't forget this fellow.
posted by thomas j wise at 6:30 PM PST - 7 comments

The Fallaci Code. via
posted by semmi at 5:20 PM PST - 50 comments

Window Exchange, Snowflake Series. Ambient techno with nice imargy for your enjoyment.
posted by nickerbocker at 3:37 PM PST - 14 comments

British government one step closer to Final Solution. The inferior race has taken over the great majority of our country, forcing out the decent natives, and must be exterminated. The £1 per confirmed kill bounty proved inadequate. Only through a mass poisoning campaign can our local boys gain deserved ascendance over the invaders. The plan has sterling supporters.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 3:21 PM PST - 40 comments

Public Service Announcements from the staff of NBC's "The Office."
posted by ColdChef at 3:05 PM PST - 41 comments

The great Caribbean coral die-off. "The 2005 die-off is bigger than all the previous 20 years combined".. magnitude never before-seen.. sea surface temps worst in the 21 years of satellite monitoring. NOAA preliminary reports with cool graphs to left.
posted by stbalbach at 2:54 PM PST - 39 comments

Lying in International Politics is a 2004 speech given by John J. Mearsheimer which reminded me of yesterday's post on but controveral but well spoken Michael Ignatieff. Mearsheimer argues that...
"...international lying takes four forms. Inter-state lying is where states lie to each other to gain strategic advantage. Fear-mongering is where foreign policy elites lie to their own public because they believe that the people do not recognize the seriousness of an external threat and they need to be motivated to deal with it. Nationalist myth-making is where elites tell lies about their state’s history to help foster a powerful sense of national identity among all segments of society. Anti-realist lying is where elites attempt to disguise brutal behavior carried out in pursuit of realist (or other) goals, because it conflicts with widely-accepted liberal norms." (more...)
(Mearsheimer has recently been covered on mefi on a more controversial subject.)
posted by bhouston at 2:16 PM PST - 10 comments

If they ever make a K-Tel Greatest Hits of found footage, Metallica Drummer [iFilm | YouTube] is bound to be the grand finale.

Meet the hesher behind the mirth, and catch a glimpse at Metallica Drummer: The Next Generation.
posted by keswick at 1:59 PM PST - 11 comments

The Endless Wait Is Over! After 15 years, Guns N’ Roses will finally release its nearly mythical album, Chinese Democracy. Chuck Klosterman has the exclusive first review of the new record, which features a 14 minute "rap-rock anthem" called "Pound You (Good)," several songs that "make thinly veiled references to the architect who designed Rose's backyard topiary garden," and attacks on the media, including "the editors of Vanity Fair, MTV personality Sway, numerous teenage bloggers, and the city hall reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer (who, curiously, has never written about pop music)." Rock on, Axl Rose. Rock on.
posted by pardonyou? at 1:19 PM PST - 39 comments

HERE COMES DR. TRAN! What? I'm not a doctor! HE'S A REAL DOCTOR! I'm not a doctor! I'm only five years old! NOT ONLY IS HE A REAL DOCTOR, HE'S A DASHING SPECIAL AGENT WITH A PH.D. IN KICKING YOUR ASS! Please go a-way! I haveta do chores! via
posted by loquacious at 12:32 PM PST - 34 comments

Elizabeth Spiers, of Gawker fame, has a new site, Dealbreaker, which bills itself as "an online business tabloid and Wall Street gossip blog." Content-free snark, with links to articles of interest to Wall Street fanboys? Oh, Elizabeth, you steal my heart. But, perhaps just mine.
posted by rush at 12:15 PM PST - 17 comments

"Have you got experience with...well, you know", she asked him. And he said, "I've got 500 miles". She scoffed. Because, you know, 500 miles is not enough. An animated 3D short by Hans Spilliaert. Music by Joachim Brackx.
posted by sluglicker at 11:57 AM PST - 5 comments

Lego Worldbuilder 2 An enjoyable and challenging sequel to the Lego Worldbuilder. Mefi post about the original
posted by boo_radley at 9:58 AM PST - 10 comments

It's Friday, waste some time: Iron Sudoku, a daily sudoku challenge from the makers of Babble. (Free) registration required.
posted by sellout at 9:57 AM PST - 15 comments

It's Hard Out Here for a (Ta)Hoe: The smartypants over at GM are running a contest to "make your own" commercial for the gas-guzzling Tahoe SUV. People are giving them just what they deserve. These are likely to be yanked sooooooon, so get 'em while they're hot!
posted by MaxVonCretin at 8:28 AM PST - 190 comments

Never ever borrow a friend's mobile, trust hitch hikers or strangers in furry costumes, never get distracted, worry about the first time or about your young son not being manly enough, and most of all never, ever forget stuff. Also, remember to always be nice to your enemies, your granny and policemen, but don't be too nice to your neighbours, and don't forget to get the car washed. Lots more brilliant short films viewable online from UK's Channel 4 Film (Real/WM streams).
posted by funambulist at 8:01 AM PST - 4 comments

Are you a Republican candidate for Senate facing a tough election and having trouble getting endorsements from your own party? It's time to take in an all-American baseball game with the Commander-in-Chief, target teh gay menace, and amend the US Constitution so American voters don't have to see any more of this over their morning corn flakes. "I think this will save him," Burress said of DeWine. "I think this move right here, regardless of the reason, will send him back to Washington." Of course, it's not just a GOP thing.
posted by digaman at 8:00 AM PST - 39 comments

FOVICKS - Friends Of Vast Industrial Concrete Kafkaesque Structures - a photo essay on the concrete geometries of the Los Angeles River flood control channels. [via inhabitat]
posted by carter at 7:36 AM PST - 24 comments

Prayer as placebo. Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery of people who were undergoing heart surgery, a large and long-awaited study has found. And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of post-operative complications like abnormal heart rhythms, perhaps because of the expectations the prayers created, the researchers suggested.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 7:17 AM PST - 137 comments

Extreme laziness may have a medical basis, say a group of Australian scientists, describing a new condition called motivational deficiency disorder (MoDeD). The condition may cost the Australian economy $1.7bn a year. Could the new drug Indolebant help sufferers leave their couches? Or is this just disease mongering?
posted by Bletch at 6:40 AM PST - 31 comments

Nomi I just discoed Nomi. Here, here and here( that site is broke in way that I think is some sort of artistic statement. Or it could be just bad html.) I was a teenager then and had never heard of him, but I'm strangely impressed. He's a bald Gary Numan, he's like the Cirque du Soleil playing bluegrass.
posted by nyxxxx at 12:00 AM PST - 34 comments

March 30
Friday Flash Fun: Orbox B, the sequel to Orbox. [previously]
posted by knave at 11:05 PM PST - 21 comments

Living and working in the desert. I was reading this interesting article when I came upon this: [more inside]
posted by tellurian at 9:54 PM PST - 28 comments

Remember life before the internet? How did anyone cope?
posted by Effigy2000 at 7:45 PM PST - 107 comments

videoville.org .. a wiki for cool music videos. An extension of videos.antville.org.
posted by crunchland at 7:41 PM PST - 7 comments

Ten banned records, burned and played. (Flash with audio.)
posted by hydrophonic at 7:15 PM PST - 35 comments

Michael Ignatieff, the candidate parachuted into Etobicoke by supporters who would see him as the next leader of the federal Liberal Party of Canada, has just given a speech outlining his vision for Canada, which is probably the forerunner to an official announcement about his candidacy. (Previously, on MeFi.) If he runs, he will be up against Martha Hall Findlay, John Godfrey, and Maurizio Bevilacqua who have all declared. Other contenders might well include Stéphane Dion, Joe Volpe, and hockey legend Ken Dryden. Finally, the race appears to be hotting up.
posted by Zinger at 7:03 PM PST - 41 comments

New Zealand's monopoly Pay TV service went dark for about 14 hours last night. The Sky TV outage was apparently due to an error positioning a satellite, but not helped by the fact that said satellite is running on a backup processor and is years out of its regular service life. One enterprising viewer is taking things into his own hands.
posted by pivotal at 6:11 PM PST - 29 comments

It's Time To Get Back To The Basics In Missouri: "A year after Republicans took control of state government, conservative lawmakers are promoting a wide range of social legislation designed to rein in sex and unshackle the Bible." One proposed bill, for example, would recognize a Christian God as the deity for most Missourians. Other bills deny alimony to ex-spouses who live with a boyfriend or girlfriend, ban all abortions, allow pharmacists, insurance companies, doctors and hospitals to deny treatment if the procedure or medication offends their moral values, and require sex education classes to teach that life begins at fertilization and that an unborn child has “sensory awareness” long before birth. Rep. Cynthia Davis, Republican and sponsor of several bills, said conservatives are tired of an overly permissive society in which high school students are taught how to use condoms. "...if the state starts paying for contraceptives we will have more babies than if we just teach people to not expect free prostitution from poor people. "
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:38 PM PST - 73 comments

You knew it was coming: This year's 50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers revealed (previously covered: 2005, 2004, 2003 ) [apologies for NYCfilter]
posted by rottytooth at 3:05 PM PST - 39 comments

God ... to get paid. Does doubling your church (temple, mosque, buddhist shrine, wiccan house of worship, etc.) attendence really lead to an increase in your income? Or someone elses? Let the causation/correlation games continue.
posted by scblackman at 2:56 PM PST - 14 comments

Loes Modderman's Science Art
Beautiful microscopic art, often striking similar to some modern art. Dig the abstract crystal images: cholesterol, crystal landscapes, vitamin c is psychedelic. Explore the sands of the world! Bubbles are pretty, plastics rock, fluids are minimalist. (via)
posted by MetaMonkey at 2:41 PM PST - 5 comments

Culture Catch is an online "magazine" featuring vid and podcasts of musicians such as Mark Kozelek, American Music Club, Les Paul and Tony Visconti. Plus: Todd McFarlane, Sir Richard Branson, Henry Rollins, Gisele, David Cronenberg and more.
posted by edlundart at 2:33 PM PST - 7 comments

When all else fails, go to your happy place.
via BLDGBLOG
posted by signal at 1:58 PM PST - 25 comments

When you just can't get enough... Comes the iGoatse, protect your iPod with the one thing that might actually keep people from stealing your iPod. [via Gizmodo]
posted by FlamingBore at 1:49 PM PST - 42 comments

You might be a redneck if ... you enjoy Jeff Foxworthy Jerky. Or maybe you'd prefer some NASCAR brand meat. Remember when sports food tie-ins were simpler? Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? via spofi
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:39 PM PST - 13 comments

Brian Eno and David Byrne released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts in 1981. It's a great album--and now it's available with a Creative Commons License. "This is the first time complete and total access to original tracks with remix and sampling possibilities have been officially offered on line."
posted by dobbs at 1:36 PM PST - 44 comments

How To Save a Snowflake Forever
Theodore Gray, of the too-cool for words Periodic Table Table (discussed a long, long time ago here) gives step-by-step instructions on how to preserve a snowflake in superglue forever.

And much more coolness to explore. Smelting in a Microwave, anyone? Shrinking coins with magnets and electricity?
posted by fenriq at 1:32 PM PST - 17 comments

Cops on Myspace
posted by Lusy P Hur at 1:01 PM PST - 40 comments

Hard to See Uluru (formerly Ayers' Rock) the "red center of Australia" isn't just as tall as an 85 story building, it's surrounded by hundreds of square miles of nothing. Uluru - It's not just big, it's [insert your tagline here].
posted by AuntLisa at 12:59 PM PST - 39 comments

Everything from Aieee! to Zzzzwap! Las Onomatopeyas has lots of the onomatopoeic title cards from the 1960s Batman TV show.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:34 PM PST - 24 comments

Insulating Bush Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged if it was publicly disclosed that he had been personally warned that a key rationale for going to war had been challenged within the administration. Rove expressed his concerns shortly after an informal review of classified government records by then-Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley determined that Bush had been specifically advised that claims he later made in his 2003 State of the Union address -- that Iraq was procuring high-strength aluminum tubes to build a nuclear weapon -- might not be true, according to government records and interviews
posted by Postroad at 11:41 AM PST - 47 comments

The BBC uses a survey , apparently, to rank words by their perceived offensiveness.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:14 AM PST - 63 comments

Device warns you if you're boring or irritating MIT develops emotional intelligence prosthetic.
posted by srs at 10:53 AM PST - 21 comments

MyDeathSpace keeps track of the MySpace profiles of people that die.
posted by xmutex at 9:35 AM PST - 36 comments

i give you c'thulu's progeny. SQUIDBLOG!!! enjoy the squidlings.
posted by Doorstop at 9:24 AM PST - 14 comments

No implants on this Virgin? Sounds like some celebs won't be able to fly Virgin's space flights. Too bad. But what about other implants?
posted by underthehat at 9:19 AM PST - 13 comments

Baseball meets cock fighting! Now on DVD!
posted by usedwigs at 8:41 AM PST - 8 comments

Justice Scalia has trouble minding his manners. Reminds me of this.
posted by rxrfrx at 8:40 AM PST - 100 comments

Sudden capricious friendship with secondhand books -- a lovely little tribute to quiet expansive pleasures by Virginia Woolf. Where do used books find you? [via the ever-marvelous wood s lot]
posted by digaman at 7:54 AM PST - 33 comments

Forty-nine published plays. Four Pulitzer Prizes. Three marriages. A suicide attempt. A celebrity for a father. A drug-addicted mother who blamed her habit on her son. A daughter estranged, a son who committed suicide. A Nobel Prize, the only ever awarded to an American playwright.
Eugene O'Neill from inside out: a documentary film for American Experience. More inside.
posted by matteo at 7:43 AM PST - 16 comments

The Internet Before its Time. Telidon was a novel "two-way TV" system that debuted in Canada in 1978. It used NAPLPS, a basic vector-graphics protocol, for presentation and operated over a 1200 bps modem. It was never a commercial or technological success, but I was 10, it was 1981 and I was playing hangman... ONLINE.
posted by GuyZero at 7:11 AM PST - 25 comments

Filmsite.org's "Sex in Cinema: The Greatest and Most Influential Erotic / Sexual Films and Scenes" (NSFW). Filmsite.org's been mentioned a few times on MeFi, and I've come across them again looking up information about Natalie Wood. She's on page 12 (NSFW) for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.
posted by taumeson at 7:03 AM PST - 10 comments

Safely install software in a virtual layer. Sick of buggy or beta software screwing with your Windows install? Altiris SVS provides a free and nifty alternative to the software diet by letting you install software into protected layers which can be removed or restored with a single click. (It's like a thinly-sliced version of VMware.) Altiris's Juice site lists lots of interesting tricks such as easily rolling back software patches. Pre-layered software installs available here.
posted by yoz at 5:33 AM PST - 16 comments

"She was released this morning, she's talked to her father and she's fine" Jill Carroll has been released and is safe. [newsfilter]
posted by stilgar at 5:21 AM PST - 79 comments

Slips of the tongue are usually a result of the sound structure of an utterance. For example, saying 'Martin Luther Koong Junior', where the vowel in 'Koong' might be taken from either of the two flanking words. Freudian slips are much rarer. Why then, are these two people losing their jobs? [More inside]
posted by fcummins at 4:13 AM PST - 78 comments

This is Darrow,
Inadequately scrawled, with his young, old heart,
And his drawl, and his infinite paradox
And his sadness, and kindness,
And his artist sense that drives him to shape his life
To something harmonious, even against the schemes of God. [MI]
posted by amro at 4:06 AM PST - 7 comments

Some facts about Latinos and immigration, and chances are good they haven't been mentioned at all during coverage of the "immigration crisis" . (and take a stroll down memory lane to past GOP platform statements on the issue)
posted by amberglow at 4:02 AM PST - 110 comments

March 29
The Measurement of Poverty
posted by Gyan at 11:19 PM PST - 6 comments

The Typing of the Dead was a much loved game for the Dreamcast and PC. The out of print PC game was once available at the venerable Home of the Underdogs, but their site is borked after their domain expired, due to their insanely restrictive .htaccess referer blocking.

Alas! Have no fear: Some kind soul upped it to the Pirate Bay, where I'm currently seeding it.
posted by blasdelf at 11:17 PM PST - 50 comments

Hardcore Gaming 101 has a e-newsletter, but the best things there are the loving introductions to dozens of classic games and game series, all either sadly forgotten or practically unknown to the Western World. Thrill to the serious action of Compile shooters! Avoid the mocking gazes of friends, roomies and significant others while reading about venerable Konami cute-em-ups Twinbee and Parodius! Figure out why the hell so many Namco games have Valkyrie in them! Try to keep a straight face when confronted with the likes of Ganbare Goemon, Phoenix Wright, The Neverhood, No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!!!, Panic!, Urban Yeti and Segagaga, the Sega Simulator! Do, uh, something along with the T&A delights of Keio Flying Squadron, Popful Mail and Valis! All this and much, much, much much more.
posted by JHarris at 9:22 PM PST - 26 comments

Silvio Berlusconi humps a meter maid. Ubiquitous youtube link.
posted by wilful at 7:02 PM PST - 56 comments

Farang men and Thai bar girls:
Some farangs quickly lose the plot; some know how to treat a bar girl; some run complicated "free sex" scams; some are exploitative creeps.
Bar girls can be sticky; some like to collect sponsors.
Is true love possible? The odds are against it.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:32 PM PST - 116 comments

A step toward justice in West Africa.
posted by pwedza at 3:34 PM PST - 7 comments

There was a lovely total solar eclipse over parts of Africa, Europe, and Asia yesterday. See the photo galleries from Spaceweather, BBC, various Flickr users, and the International Space Station.
posted by brownpau at 3:26 PM PST - 12 comments

Taste's great! Less filling! So did "several former judges who served on the panel also voiced skepticism at a Senate hearing about the president's constitutional authority to order wiretapping on Americans without a court order" or did "FISA judges say Bush within law"? Just in case you doubted that different newspapers present news stories (even those with official audio coverage available!) differently...
posted by twsf at 3:03 PM PST - 15 comments

the perfect penis? (very NSFW) guy injects silicon into his groin for several years and ... well...
posted by vronsky at 3:01 PM PST - 115 comments

Tom Hanks to star in some movie about Starbucks
posted by rottytooth at 3:00 PM PST - 50 comments

Everyone knows big business does things better than nature, god and everything else. Not everyone agrees though. The Future of Food (1hr 29 mins) has the nerve to criticize Monsanto for simply protecting its own rightfully acquired genetic property from thieving farmers. And why do they steel it? Because it’s good for you and it’s going to save the world. (warning: glossy corporate brochure in pdf format).
posted by piscatorius at 2:58 PM PST - 16 comments

The little coffee plant that almost died. A fascinating and inspiring radio piece detailing the story of the wild coffee plant, "cafe marron," that almost disappeared from the one island where it grew, Rodrigues, in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
posted by billysumday at 2:46 PM PST - 3 comments

Free bikes! BikeTown will give away 600 bicycles this year to residents of NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas, Houston, LA, Chicago, Detroit, Boise, Baltimore, MD (and the Gila River Indian Community in AZ). BikeTown research has shown that, on average, its participants rode 10 miles per week, mostly for pleasure or exercise. But more than 40% rode for transportation purposes, happily trading their car and the cost of gasoline for a bike...
posted by RockyChrysler at 2:43 PM PST - 16 comments

Autum Ashante is a racist.
posted by xmattxfx at 2:26 PM PST - 77 comments

Arrested Development is officially over. A source close to the negotiations said that creator Mitch Hurwitz had decided after a lengthy period of debating an offer from Showtime that "Arrested Development reached its end, creatively, as a series."
posted by empath at 2:04 PM PST - 58 comments

Who speaks for Jesus? Why are liberal churches ignored by the American media? Why is the religious right given so much play? Media Matters gives credence to the claim that the religious right is overrepresented in the American media, and liberal religious leaders are excluded. I can't remember the last time I saw a liberal religious leader on American TV who wasn't Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 1:34 PM PST - 83 comments

We may run out of oil, but we'll never run out of irony. Victor Willis, the policeman from the 70s disco band "Village People" was arrested for going AWOL (at the age of 54) after agreeing to a plea bargain for 2005 gun and drug possession charges. He'll be exploring a new fan base in prison. Good thing the folks from America's Most Wanted were on this case. It's not like we have terrorists out there on the lam. Maybe he should've hidden in Paris. Somebody there seems to fancy him.
posted by scblackman at 1:23 PM PST - 11 comments

Maya Ruins - Nice images of Maya ruins in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, indexed to site plans. See for instance Uxmal: the Grand Pyramid, the House of the Doves, the Nunnery Quadrangle, and the Pyramid of the Magician. See also: the Meso-American Photo Archives.
posted by carter at 1:15 PM PST - 17 comments

Lewis The Cat In Hot Water After Alleged Attacks
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 12:38 PM PST - 65 comments

Perhaps the world's saddest pug.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:15 PM PST - 57 comments

WalMart Manager: We feel that as a Christian Company it was inappropriate to carry things associated with morally corrupt themes.
posted by skwm at 11:07 AM PST - 228 comments

Gentleman's Fight Club.
posted by the cuban at 10:59 AM PST - 39 comments

Don Pixel is a collection of little diversionary flash games, like Light Brigade, Zelda : The Collecting of Pills (a mashup of pacman and zelda), and Hapland, a sort of samorost clone. All in flash or shockwave. Something for everyone.
posted by crunchland at 10:41 AM PST - 15 comments

Baghdad is calm, except it's neither. So this guy Howard Kaloogian is running for Congress in California, and he supports the troops. Thinks they're making all sorts of progress that simply isn't reported by the evil lib'rul mainstream media, so he went to see Baghdad for himself, and posted a picture of a calm Baghdad street - See? No terrorists here! Except that certain sleuthing types found something awfully fishy about that photo...
posted by kgasmart at 9:54 AM PST - 146 comments

Other loves
still breathe deep inside me.
This one's too short of breath even to sigh.
"First Love", by Wislawa Szymborska. (via the Daily Poems of poems.com)
posted by matteo at 7:17 AM PST - 19 comments

A collection of bird skeletons (with 3d rotating skeleton goodness). The site also has tips on cleaning your own, and identifying those you might, uh, stumble across. Comparative pictures and anatomy of orangutan, chimp, marmoset, and lemur skeletons. Will's Skull Site, with close to 100 skulls and details (Cougar!). The California Academy of Sciences site on skulls, including this cool animal-to-skull match tool. Skeleton specimen tutorials from the Vetrinary Museum. The Human Osteology pages. A x-ray anatomy of the human skeleton. The Human Skull module at CalState Chico. And, you know, dragon physiology. And previously, the skeletal systems of cartoon characters.
posted by OmieWise at 6:48 AM PST - 8 comments

It's okay...Shania was driving for me. Chalk another one up to insanity. Hinkley had Jody. Berkowitz had Sam. God told Peter Sutcliffe what to do. Of course, no one told Ted Kaczynski what to do.
posted by thejimp at 5:31 AM PST - 45 comments

Italian & German researchers have created a "neuro-chip" for linking computers with mammalian neurons (A NewScientist, LiveScience, MSN). They added neuron gluing proteins to the chip to attract the sodium pores, and genetically modified the neurons to add more sodium pores.

In the short term, the work is expected to aid the pharmaceutical industry in testing the effects of drugs on neurons, assist basic research into the workings of the brain, and perhaps help treat neurological disorders. In the long term, numerous sci-fi technologies are slightly closers, such as computers with living components, useful brain implants, and Beowulf clusters of humans.
posted by jeffburdges at 3:52 AM PST - 15 comments

Quick change artists David and Dania, who got her start in the Moscow Circus, entertain crowds at NBA half-time shows by performing quick changes of clothing. They've performed on numerous other shows around the world. You can even buy one of David's quick change tophats... (!!!).
posted by saketini99 at 3:17 AM PST - 31 comments

Enigma machine + eBay = Nerdgasm
posted by loquacious at 2:28 AM PST - 22 comments

Waikiki Stinks -- Millions of gallons of raw sewage are flowing into the ocean at the edge of Waikiki Beach. Sewage overflow is becoming a common part of Hawai'i winters. This annual sewage and rain runoff has raised serious concerns about health, reef devastation, and shark attacks. Surfers are pissed. The business community, meanwhile, is euphoric over the raging construction boom that is changing the Honolulu skyline, and lining pockets. Although the sewage/runoff has caused the state to be heavily fined by the Feds, there is no buzz about how this same island infrastructure will support the increased flushing of all the new high rises being built.
posted by Surfurrus at 2:19 AM PST - 18 comments

March 28
Live Eagle Cam High quality stream from a camera pointing at a Bald Eagle's nest on Hornby Island. Direct link to video here. [via digg]
posted by null terminated at 10:21 PM PST - 43 comments

Nice Bill Hicks video on google video. It's nice to hear such warm, life-affirming humor with all the cynicism these days.
posted by Paris Hilton at 9:12 PM PST - 193 comments

"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts and in living color, you are going to see another first -- attempted suicide." The 1976 multiple-Oscar-winning movie Network is said to have been partially inspired by this suicide. [Aug. 4, 1974 Washington Post story (PDF)]. This guy doubts that a tape exists.
posted by spock at 9:01 PM PST - 30 comments

Ukraine is divided on the issue of Russian: The Russian speaking population from the eastern part of the country has increasingly attempted to make Russian into an official language only, provoking bitter opposition from the Ukranian speaking majority in the western part. [More inside]
posted by gregb1007 at 8:41 PM PST - 13 comments

Googlebot deletes inept company's site content.
Lessons to be learned, kids, lessons to be learned.
posted by Hackworth at 8:24 PM PST - 36 comments

Engineering the perfect night's sleep. Because I want my bed to monitor my heartbeat.
posted by jeremias at 8:20 PM PST - 3 comments

The book of numbers - fun flash frippery.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:15 PM PST - 17 comments

Welcome to Urville, the city that autistic Frenchman Gilles Trehin has been designing since he was 12 years old. The drawings, in particular, are incredible.
posted by jimmythefish at 7:31 PM PST - 27 comments

He's a Gruppie, she's a Gruppie... Wouldn't you like to be a Gruppie too?
posted by dejah420 at 5:56 PM PST - 119 comments

I'm embarassed for my mice to have to say this but ... Their testicles are HUGE, like almost as big as their heads. Good thing for humanity too, as mice testicles may provide a source of stem cells free of the usual ethical considerations.They may also hold the solutions to transplant rejection and infertility. Is there anything those fuzzy globes can't do?
posted by hindmost at 3:08 PM PST - 22 comments

The Story of Menstruation (youtube video) -- A 1954 cartoon from Walt Disney, created at the behest of Kotex.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 2:51 PM PST - 47 comments

Early in the morning on November 21, 1980, twelve men abandonded their oil rig on Lake Peigneur in Louisiana, suspecting that something was wrong. Little did they know they created a SWIRLING VORTEX OF DOOM!
posted by punkfloyd at 1:50 PM PST - 59 comments

Hnefatafl is an anglo-norse boardgame whose many variants are mentioned in the sagas (wearing a helmet during play is entirely optional) . Chess superseded it during the rennaisance, but Scholarly work has allowed the rules to be deduced in modern times, mainly on the basis of a 1732 diary account written by Linnaeus (he of the botanical naming system).

And now, thanks to the magic of the internet, you can play online.
posted by apodo at 1:47 PM PST - 17 comments

My Dinner With Jack. "Three years ago, I had dinner with now the now infamous lobbyist Jack Abramoff (really). I sat down at his now infamous restaurant Signatures, he told me and amazing and wildly improbable story about how he made Red Scorpion and I never heard from him again." [via mefi projects]
posted by delmoi at 1:05 PM PST - 31 comments

TheForest In Winter. [qt] CHIMZTS! [via]
posted by Armitage Shanks at 12:34 PM PST - 25 comments

Great fakers scammed ancient Italy. An ingenious counterfeit-coin scam has been rumbled by scientists in Italy. But no one is going to jail, because the forgers lived more than 2,000 years ago.
posted by riffola at 12:14 PM PST - 7 comments

I finally saw it and captured it on film. The picture got me wondering whether or not anyone else was equally smitten by these freaks of nature. Apparently the good people at The Albino Squirrel Preservation Society are. So are these seemingly nice folks. Leave it to the BBC to be the definitive authority on the topic. Of course there are those who will turn this into a tourist attraction or a way to make a quick buck. There are frauds. There are criminal aspects. There is always a detractor or two, and as always too much hype.
posted by scblackman at 11:43 AM PST - 39 comments

“The Emperor Jones was a landmark drama, not only in conception but also in production: a black actor, Charles Gilpin, was permitted for the first time to enact the leading role in a New York dramaJames Earl Jones and collaborators discuss and rehearse a later production. Currently Elizabeth LeCompte directs Kate Valk, a middle-aged white woman in blackface, in a contemporary production from the Wooster Group. They’ve courted this type of controversy before. The NYTimes loved the show, this review isn’t as glowing.
posted by jrb223 at 10:46 AM PST - 8 comments

The Routes of English on BBC Radio 4 tells the story of spoken english. If that's not enough for you, you can test your knowledge, learn about the spread of the language, play games (Do you know where 'ketchup' originates?) Check out the Q&A. Learn about Churchill's roar. Then check out the related links. Most sound clips are in RealPlayer format. Real Alternative here.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:24 AM PST - 9 comments

Avie Tevanian to leave Apple. Long regarded as the brains behind OS X (and NeXT before it), Tevanian's unexpected departure is "too pursue other interests," and his last day is Friday, 1 day before Apple's 30th anniversary. Noted tech curmudgeon John C. Dvorak recently claimed, to much ridicule, that Apple was going to ditch OS X and move to Windows. Coincidence? Or has Steve's famous temper gotten the better of him again?
posted by mkultra at 10:05 AM PST - 76 comments

Are Satanic messages hidden in Catholic art? According to the new documentary Rape of the Soul [embedded Quicktime], the answer is, "so completely yes that you could shit." Featuring such experts as Wilson Bryan Key and Judith Reisman, this movie will literally, physically blow your brain apart by cutting little holes in classic art that might conceivably look like three sixes if you arrange them properly, or maybe finding a small patch of red and black that could look like a lumpy Devil head if you're looking for one and squinting. [via]
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:56 AM PST - 64 comments

In Georgia public schools, the Bible is the textbook. Georgia would become the first to require its Department of Education to put in place a curriculum to teach the history and literature of the Bible. Schools would use the book itself as the classroom textbook. Specifically the bill would establish electives on both the New and Old Testaments.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 7:49 AM PST - 207 comments

Easy Star Records, which previously released the underground hit reggae album The Dub Side of the Moon, is nearing completion on a followup, Radiodread, "a reggae re-vision of Radiohead’s OK Computer." Listen to four tracks from Dub Side online (via flash). Don't miss the gurgling bong sound effects on "Money". Artists on Radiodread include Toots Hibbert, Citizen Cope, Sugar Minott, Junior Jazz, Tamar-Kali, Horace Andy, Morgan Heritage, Frankie Paul and Kirsty Rock.
posted by fochsenhirt at 7:42 AM PST - 15 comments

Intrigues at the White House: Andrew Card, Bush's longtime chief of staff -- the guy who briefly interrupted the President's reading of The Pet Goat one rough morning in 2001 and took heat for the Katrina and Dubai debacles -- is out, replaced by budget director "Yosh" Bolten, the one-time founder of a club called "Bikers for Bush." Meanwhile, is Rove rolling over for Patrick Fitzgerald, and if so, what's the angle?
posted by digaman at 6:39 AM PST - 61 comments

You are what you eat? How about eating Gingerbread House on the Rock, Neverwhere Soup, Coraline-au-prune, and having ambitions to eat the Compleat Works of Neil Gaiman. I agree with his taste in books, but I thought people grew out of that paper-eating phase by their teenage years (except when meals are prepared by a Sous-Chef with an Inkjet).
posted by Silki at 6:31 AM PST - 19 comments

Owls are rad. Sometimes they look kind of metallic and scary, sometimes wise, sometimes puzzled, and sometimes like skulls, (Index); sometimes they sound like dogs or pigs, sometimes they sound like a little train, sometimes they sound alarmed, (Index of MP3s); sometimes you come across an extensive gallery of Central and North American owls with pictures, ranges, video, and even a description of the '04-'05 Northern Owl Invasion; sometimes it's a dynamic range map of Owls of the Western Hemisphere; sometimes it's the OwlCam homepage with downloadable owl movies, sometimes it's a series of articles on all things owl; sometimes at BiologyBase it's a printable owl sighting lifelist, sometimes it's Ruru, the morepork, New Zealand's native owl at NZBirds. Or, w0t! w0t!, it's attracting barn owls and building nest boxes at World Owl Trust. Previous MeFi birding FPP.
posted by OmieWise at 6:27 AM PST - 34 comments

Justice Scalia spoke in support of Guantanamo Bay earlier this month, despite the fact that Gitmo cases such as Hamdan v. Rumsfeld are pending before the Supreme Court. "War is war, and it has never been the case that when you captured a combatant you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts," Scalia said, prompting calls that he recuse himself from the case, which will be heard today. Justice Roberts has already done so, as he has previously ruled on Hamdan.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 6:19 AM PST - 31 comments

"...the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is..." "Yes? Yes!?" "...42."
via Dyson, Montgomery, Princeton, a cup of tea - as presented by Seed Magazine.
posted by loquacious at 1:32 AM PST - 41 comments

March 27
The oil in your oatmeal is just a bit of The Oil We Eat.
posted by stbalbach at 11:18 PM PST - 28 comments

Ruby on Rails 1.1 is out and you can pretend you know what Ruby on Rails is after reading the overview on the homepage or checking out the screencasts if you have some time. Some might recognize this from prior posts (perhaps, undeservedly) or from some of the web applications that were developed with it.
posted by jmhodges at 10:50 PM PST - 36 comments

The Battle of Glorieta Pass is considered the turning point of the Civil War, in terms of the New Mexico Territory. It happened March 26-28th, 1862. Initially Charles L. Pyron and William Reed Scurry's Confederate force, based at Johnson's Ranch, thought that they had won the battle. They would soon learn that the Union troops, lead by John P. Slough, had circled and destroyed their supplies, leading to Scurry's retreat towards San Antonio. More detailed battle info: [1] [2]-Some site photos.
posted by rollbiz at 8:17 PM PST - 27 comments

Does copyright extend to the bit encoding sequences used in P2P applications? A case is made for the myriad paths bit encoding can take in the formation of MP3 files, the argument being therefore that said bit encoding sequences used in the formation of MP3 files are exempt from copyright law. Furthermore an application is offered to demonstrate the point. But isn't bit encoding just another 'language' like French, German, Spanish and therefore a copyrightable adjunct to the authors/copyright owners work? (Even if there are myriad dialects.)
posted by Muirwylde at 7:02 PM PST - 57 comments

Brotherly Love. "When a young Fort Lewis soldier returned from Iraq paralyzed from the upper chest down, it was his teenage brother who assumed the role of roommate and primary caretaker." The Seattle Times tells the story of Brandon and Blaine Powell. Be sure to check out the audio slideshow, which features Brandon speaking over photographer Alan Berner's images.
posted by jeffmshaw at 6:32 PM PST - 13 comments

Australian artist Pro Hart has died. Hart used DNA in his paintings to foil counterfeiters. Sometimes he painted with a cannon, other times with a plane.
posted by tellurian at 6:30 PM PST - 16 comments

Curating the City A Flash exhibition exploring the past and present urban landscape of Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. A modest topic explored in depth - which is perhaps what makes it so fascinating. The site includes a pdf guidebook, in case you want to check out the bricks-and-mortar version.
posted by carter at 1:16 PM PST - 8 comments

Wade in the Water In 2004, Smithsonian Folklife Festival featured the maritime cultures of the Mid-Atlantic region, from Long Island to North Carolina. Now, this site gives a home on the web to the cultural documentation gathered for the festival -- music, recipes, stories and oral history, an interactive map, the occupational folklore and natural history of regional fisheries, photos, video, and more. The material, ably compiled by folklorists and educators, creates a lasting and very accessible archive of festival highlights as well as an excellent overview of the distinct coastal culture of the Mid-Atlantic. Don't miss the great menhaden net-hauling chantey Help Me to Raise 'Em (links to mp3).
posted by Miko at 12:50 PM PST - 7 comments

Engadget points out Sven König's Scrambled Hackz, an Ableton Live-like app that takes in sound samples, analyzes their spectrum, and builds a triggerable, interactive beatbox set upon which hilarious and remarkable performances can be built. A GPLed package will be released soon.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:34 PM PST - 23 comments

I'm positive one of you people did this. Predated by Cory sucking and as foretold by prophecy.
posted by boo_radley at 12:32 PM PST - 112 comments

A group of scientists have announced that they have created cloned and genetically modified pigs that make their own omega-3 fatty acids. NPR has more on the story, including an audio report from Joe Palca. There are apparently some naturally occuring pigs with their own omega-3 fatty acids, primarily a Spanish breed called Ibérico. Descended from native Iberian wild boar, black-footed Ibérico hogs are raised in specially maintained oak forests, and feed primarily on acorns. Until last September, however, no Spanish producer had been approved to export Ibérico products to the United States, and consumers may have to wait a few more months before they can get their hands on the tasty pork. As the ham is sure to be in short supply, you can put down a $199 deposit now for a ham that will carry a final price tag of as much as $1000. If you're unable to wait for—or afford—the Spanish version, you can treat yourself now to the Bacon of the Month Club, which serves up a different artisanal bacon each month. For more on raising hogs, read James Buchan's account in the London Review of Books. And don't forget the bacon blogs: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:25 PM PST - 28 comments

Nikki Sudden is dead. After playing a show this weekend at the Knitting Factory, Nikki Sudden of the Swell Maps and The Jacobites, as well as tons of solo stuff, died suddenly. Details and discussion. Remembrance and a live set from just this past Monday on WFMU.
posted by jann at 12:21 PM PST - 24 comments

Tim Heidecker Gets stabbed (he's ok) Tim Heidecker, of TimandEric.com, co-creator of Tom Goes to the Mayor, (Adult Swim) and pal of Bob Odenkirk was stabbed by a kid on PCP last week. He wrote about the experience and included some neat photos on his blog. I couldn't find the police blotter.
posted by sswiller at 11:58 AM PST - 35 comments

Robert Jordan has amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder that is remarkably fatal. The link has all the info you need, including: "[amyloidosis is] a rare blood disease which affects only 8 people out of a million each year, and those 8 per million are divided among 22 distinct forms of amyloidosis" and "Untreated, it would eventually make my heart unable to function any longer and I would have a median life expectancy of one year from diagnosis."
posted by taumeson at 11:48 AM PST - 49 comments

The Chapman Stick was developed by, who else, Emmett Chapman in the early to mid 70's. One taps the strings rather than plucking and is closer to a piano than a guitar. Noted musians using the stick are Tony Levin (with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson) and Greg Howard (The Dave Mathews Band). Then there's the chick with a stick.
posted by sluglicker at 11:11 AM PST - 31 comments

Soft Fury Monsters with Hard Pink Genitals and other oddities of Stuckism.
posted by dios at 10:50 AM PST - 33 comments

Stone-aged and primitive are what you call people when you want their land. Baroness Lady Tonge of Kew told the British House of Lords that the Bushmen are "holding the government of Botswana to ransom." And how, you ask, can a bunch of hunter-gatherers hold the government that's herding them into "resettlement camps" "ransom"? Because they want to "stay in the stone age," of course. Not that this might be motivated by stones of a different sort. And you thought the Trail of Tears was just something in your history book.
posted by jefgodesky at 9:02 AM PST - 20 comments

Stanislaw Lem: 1921-2006. Polish science-fiction giant Stanislaw Lem died this morning. He was 84. Though Lem was not as well known as Asimov or Heinlein or the other "Masters", he was just as important to the genre. Lem was not a fan of traditonal science-fiction, and in his work tried to approach futuristic themes from a more humanistic, almost psychological, perspective. (And his books are funny!) His best-known work, Solaris, was twice made into a film, most recently in 2002. [Woefully out-of-date official site.]
posted by jdroth at 8:54 AM PST - 87 comments

John Vanderslice live, b-sides, and demos. Formerly of the band MK Ultra, John Vanderslice, owner of the Tiny Telephone analog recording studio in San Francisco, California, has become a respected record producer and solo artist. He recently produced The Sunset Tree, the newest record by The Mountain Goats, the musical vehicle of songwriter John Darnielle. Darnielle is credited as a lyrical collaborator on Vanderslice's latest, Pixel Revolt. John likes to put it all out there, offering up a meticulous Pixel Revolt recording diary, user's guide, and detailed album credits. JV on NPR. Cooking with JV.
posted by ludwig_van at 7:47 AM PST - 20 comments

Peak oil? Yesterday's news. Global warming? You won't live to see it. Today's end-of-the-world-as-you-know-it message is mad cow disease in the human blood supply.
posted by jfuller at 5:57 AM PST - 68 comments

All Politics is Thymotic. "Let me tell you what men want. Let me tell you why some middle-age men wear the sports jerseys of semiliterate behemoths half their age while others customize their cars with so many speakers they sound like the hip-hop version of the San Francisco earthquake as they roll down the street.

Recognition. Men want others to recognize their significance. They want to feel important and part of something important." (NYT via donkey o.d.)
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:27 AM PST - 36 comments

The Parade of the Red Army and other scans of Soviet Children's Books from the '20's and '30's. [via DaddyTypes]
posted by anastasiav at 5:17 AM PST - 14 comments

Artificial images of our real planet : computer-generated Earth views and panoramas, all created using various free tools and resources, including the Blue Marble and USGS datasets, POV-Ray and the Gimp. CGI Mount Saint Helens vs the real thing. For truly artificial landscapes, see also the randomly-generated Landscape of week from the same author.
posted by elgilito at 4:16 AM PST - 16 comments

March 26
"Marriage is for white people."
posted by Marky at 11:47 PM PST - 71 comments

Diogenes the Cynic sought One Honest Man. Lately we have had some wonderful examples that would seem to confirm the philosopher's most cynical suspicions. And then along come some Honest {quicktime movie} Women and it's just so refreshing.
posted by fourcheesemac at 11:41 PM PST - 13 comments

New York Times to release Bush/Blair memo tomorrow. The memo, which was mentioned previously, but never publically disclosed, confirms that George W. Bush and Tony Blair were determined to invade Iraq, regardless of UN approval, and despite what both leaders told their citizens. More troubling, the memo also indicates that Bush may have conspired to assassinate Saddam Hussein, which appears to violate Sec. 5g of Executive Order 11905, which states that "No employee of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination." This executive order was considered the law of the land even after 9/11, when Bob Barr proposed legislation H.R. 19, which was never enacted into law.
posted by insomnia_lj at 11:04 PM PST - 74 comments

Cenotes (say-NO-tays), scattered across the Yucatan peninsula, vary greatly in shape and size, but are often quite beautiful in any case. Some cenotes were apparently used for ritual human sacrifice by the Mayans, and some, say scientists, contain waterlife which may be helpful in treating cancer. However, these cenotes and thei