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March 31
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 states 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
March 29
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
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
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
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
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
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
March 28
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
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
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
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
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 Radioheads 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
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
March 27
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
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
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 foror affordthe 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
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
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
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
March 26
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
