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March 2008 Archives
March 31
A new campaign plans to relocate polar bears to Antarctica to protect them from the effects of climate change. Based on the rates of ice melt in the North, scientists say most polar bears will be
gone by 2050. The first bears will be
moved on Earth Day, April 22. The relocation will be the initial step in a planned five-year program to migrate 3,000 polar bears from the Northern Arctic to the southern continent of Antarctica. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
plans to rule soon on whether to list polar bears as endangered species; however, it has indicated that relocating polar bears would be much less expensive to taxpayers than listing them under the 1973 act.
posted by commonmedia at 10:59 PM PST - 24 comments
Public concern over ecological damage inflicted by human activity has led to growing recognition of the general importance of issues relating to biological science. Unfortunately, the dispute between creationists and upholders of the theory of evolution tends to overshadow public discussion of other more pertinent matters. Specifically, there are significant but relatively unpublicized initiatives underway to promote holistic approaches to biology.
The Nature Institute in New York is one such initiative...
[more inside]posted by No Robots at 12:35 PM PST - 78 comments
Measure for Measure - How to Write a Song and Other Mysteries. Blog from The New York Times: "In the coming weeks, the contributors to this blog - all accomplished songwriters - will pull back the curtain on the creative process as they write about their work on a song in the making." Contributors: Andrew Bird, Darrell Brown, Rosanne Cash and Suzanne Vega (only the Andrew Bird one is up right now).
posted by Ira.metafilter at 7:13 AM PST - 21 comments
Under the
Big Top: Shhhhhh! The Show's about to
start*... quick, take your
seat, sit down, and
don't make a move. It's been going on for
centuries, and now--lucky
you will be able to be a part of
it, if you haven't
already as a child
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Honestly, who hasn't thought of
running away from home and
joining the Circus (but I'd suggest you wait a couple of years, until you're a little
older, and a little
wiser, to make these
decisions). It is tempting though, when they
roll into town with their fancy wagons, and their loud music. Although, the circus may not be as
prevalent as it once was, there are
new acts being created to
entice crowds around the world.
[previously]posted by hadjiboy at 5:55 AM PST - 14 comments
March 30
Lennon and McCartney's Studio Reunion. On March 28, 1974, John Lennon was in a Burbank studio producing Harry Nilsson's "Pussy Cats" album when Paul McCartney dropped in. The room froze and remained silent until John said, "Valiant Paul McCartney, I presume?" Paul responded: "Sir Jasper Lennon, I presume?" The tension broken, a
jam session [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] ensued featuring Lennon on guitar and vocals, McCartney on drums and vocals, Stevie Wonder on electric piano and vocals, Harry Nilsson on vocals, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar and Bobby Keys on saxophone. A
bootleg of the session has circulated under the title
"A Toot and a Snore in '74".
posted by New Frontier at 8:19 PM PST - 25 comments
The state of Oregon is holding a
health insurance lottery where 91,000 hopeful enrollees will be competing for a couple thousand spots under the Oregon Health Plan, the state's Medicaid program. OHP was created to cover those who made too much to enroll in traditional Medicaid but too little to afford market healthcare, and this development comes as a result of budget cuts and a subsequent enrollment closure in July of 2004. It's a far cry from the universal health care coverage that the plan was suppose to lead to, and marks a
dramatic turn for the state's once-ambitious health care reforms.
(Previously in dystopic health care developments)posted by Weebot at 6:14 PM PST - 64 comments
"Inevitably, after I finish speaking, the strong opinions come. It happens the same way every time: People listen and then they say what they've been feeling. Videogames are not good for you. Videogames are a waste of time. They isolate children. Kids never go outside to play. They just sit there and stare at the TV all day."
The Myth of the Media Myth: Games and Non-Gamers.
posted by flatluigi at 3:36 PM PST - 129 comments
He laughs and leaves. I sit alone in the room, staring at the walls, just about every inch of which is covered with more memorabilia: a photo of him with Lennon, a photo of the Beatles circa 1965, a photo of Muddy Waters.... After maybe five minutes, Richards wanders back into the room, laughing. “Sorry, mate,” he says. “I got lost. I don’t come here often!”]...
Why do you think some people live and some die..? ...there’s that line between recklessness and stupidity, and you—
"No, you bring up a good point...."
posted by Huplescat at 2:49 PM PST - 21 comments
Odd Crop Prices Defy Economics. For finance and economics geeks:
Could a drugstore sell two identical tubes of toothpaste, and charge 50 cents more for one of them? Of course not. But, in effect, exactly that has been happening, repeatedly and mysteriously, in trading that sets prices for corn, soybeans and wheat — three of America’s biggest crops and, lately, popular targets for investors pouring into the volatile commodities market.
The curious thing is that these price anomalies should be ripe for arbitrage. There should be no gap between the price of say, wheat in the cash market and the wheat futures contract on the day the contract expires.
posted by storybored at 2:22 PM PST - 25 comments
Like sprites? The People's Sprites has the most extensive repository of old game pixel art I've ever seen. Some good examples from:
Battletoads,
Excitebike,
Final Fantasy GBA,
Mega Man,
Metal Slug,
Mortal Kombat,
Punch-Out,
River City Ransom,
Shinobi,
Samurai Shodown,
Super Mario Kart,
Super Mario World, and my favorite,
Super Metroid.
Hundreds more at the site, plus
original and
public domain ones.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:09 PM PST - 17 comments
A geek named daniel_k wanted to help his fellow Vista users. He created a set of drivers that would get their Creative sound cards working under Vista -- something beyond the ken and expertise of Creative's engineering team. Creative VP Phil O'Shaughnessy, however, took umbrage. The results?
A PR disaster with hundreds of users pledging to boycott.
posted by ed at 9:07 AM PST - 66 comments
The
Michigan Womyn’s Festival (“Michfest”) is an annual “womon-built” and run music festival. “Forty performances, a film festival, an artisan/craft show and a full roster of
workshops, parties and dances are all slated for one glorious week in August on 650 lush green acres in Michigan.” The festival is open to WBW (women born women) only.
[more inside]posted by prefpara at 8:14 AM PST - 188 comments
The Pajamas Letter.
I recently came upon a mysterious, unsigned letter in the deposit-envelope receptacle of a downtown ATM machine requesting that I draw a picture of my "normal pajamas" and send it back in an included self-addressed stamped envelope. Part Two.
Slideshow.
posted by amyms at 12:24 AM PST - 23 comments
March 29
Chinese MC Hammer. Move for move nearly perfect redo of the original Hammer video. In someone's living room. While mom knits on the couch. It's a thousand kinds of awesome.
via blortposted by mathowie at 10:35 PM PST - 74 comments
Earth Hour For one hour tonight, turn off the lights and help conserve energy. Supporters of the plan say it is the equivalent of taking nearly 50,000 cars off the road for an hour. Critics say it's equivalent to taking 6 cars off the road for a year,
and claim that media coverage of the effects is
greatly exaggerated.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 2:23 PM PST - 74 comments
March 28
Here's an interesting chart showing tertiary education attainment by age group, for OECD countries. Compare and contrast what Japan and Korea have been doing with education to the USA and Germany. (And my aren't those Canadians smart?)
Here's the (.pdf) report it's drawn from (
Kirkegaard 2007).
C/- Clive Crook's blog.posted by wilful at 9:05 PM PST - 76 comments
Truck Spills.com (some photos NSFWish) - a collection of, you guessed it, pictures (most with backstory) of lost loads of freight.
Picture set links open in new window.posted by Burhanistan at 8:04 PM PST - 29 comments
"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world." This story's making the rounds today, for a very, very good reason:
A Victim Treats His Mugger Rightposted by chinese_fashion at 10:30 AM PST - 203 comments
Rocks 'n' Diamonds for some Friday puzzle-game fun. Described as "in the tradition of" Boulderdash and Sokoban, it's actually a superset of both, and you can waste tons of time playing all the old familiar levels or
tons of others. (It's a quick download, for linux/os x/the other thing.)
posted by Wolfdog at 9:05 AM PST - 12 comments
The Most Important Article You Did Not Read This Week Now, it is true that the most important article you probably didn’t read contains all the usual hair-raising things you’d expect to see about the real estate market, including “developers under siege,” “signs of weakness in key markets,” developers “slashing prices,” and the head of a major builder advising “that people wait three to four years before purchasing a new home.” But the most important article you probably didn’t read is not about real estate markets in Naples, Florida, or Sacramento, California.
It is about China. [ full WSJ article here]posted by Stynxno at 8:10 AM PST - 43 comments
Since
these posts seemed to bring back happy memories/warm fuzzies for so many former/current choir kids, here is
Hear the Choirs Sing, a massive collection of contemporary and sacred choral works from all around the world.
And, if while singing along, you realize you've forgotten your part, check
Choral Wiki for links to sheet music.
posted by chara at 12:12 AM PST - 20 comments
March 27
Iwase Yoshiyuki "In the late 1920s, young Yoshiyuki received an early Kodak camera as a gift. Since the main livelihood of the town came from the sea, he gravitated there, and soon found a passion for "the simple, even primitive beauty" of
ama – girls and women who harvested seaweed, turban shells and abalone from beneath the coastal waters." "By the late 1960s, they had disappeared. This body of work stands as the final, most comprehensive visual document of the life and work of these divers."
[NSFW] [more inside]posted by tellurian at 10:45 PM PST - 48 comments
WithoutWalls
"This video, filmed in April 1994, records the final public words of the genius behind such films as Brimstone and Treacle, Pennies from Heaven, and Dreamchild. It's the last record of a man facing--with dignity, intelligence, and surprisingly good humor--death from cancer. Recorded as a television special by Britain's Channel Four, the documentary can be unsettling. Potter's inflamed hands can barely hold his ever-present cigarette (which he refers to as a "little tube of delight"), and he alternately sips champagne and swigs liquid morphine from an antique hip flask. But for those who have enjoyed Potter's wildly creative work--or those simply interested in the creative process itself--it's a fascinatingly funny glimpse into the mind of a master." (amazon)
posted by vronsky at 7:18 PM PST - 17 comments
Fitna , a Koranic term translated as 'strife', shows footage of the attacks on the US in September 2001, and images of the bomb attacks on London and Madrid.
Geert Wilders, Dutch politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV),
has called his just-released Fitna a ‘respectable film’. He admitted that Muslims may not be happy with it, but emphasised that he had always stuck to the facts. He said he believes that the film is also ‘one thousand kilometres within the framework of the law’.
[more inside]posted by DreamerFi at 2:39 PM PST - 48 comments
Mounted 70 feet up in a white pine tree on the coast of Maine, the BioDiversity Research Institute's
live eagle webcam provides, "live video of a nesting pair of bald eagles, 24 hours a day. These eagles are the most successful pair in the state. They have nested at this site for 13 years, and raised 20 offspring."
Warning: the live stream can be habit forming (especially when waiting for the eggs to hatch).posted by VicNebulous at 12:11 PM PST - 14 comments
The Invisible Life of Poet is a webcomic by
Christopher Stetson Wilson that's been published weekly for three and a half years. It features the adventures of nerdy high school student Poet and his retinue (mostly his friend Ben). There are many ways to navigate the
archive. For a quality skim, check out the
author's favorites. If you want a more indepth look you can check out the tag categories,
characters (e.g.
Seph the Corruptor,
Coach Fathead),
contemporary issues (e.g.
class warfare,
gender issues),
culture and society (e.g.
mass media,
religion),
hyperreality (e.g.
board games,
hallucinations),
miscellaneous (e.g.
great art,
lowbrow humor) and
psycho-social constructs (e.g.
bullying,
love and seduction).
posted by Kattullus at 6:54 AM PST - 17 comments
Photoshop Express Adobe has launched a beta version of its Photoshop Express image hosting and editing site.
Two gigs of storage and some basic editing tools. A neat feature is being able to connect to your Picassa page and edit those photos as well.
posted by HuronBob at 5:47 AM PST - 10 comments
Little by little, millions of Americans surrendered equity in their homes in recent years. Lulled by good times, they borrowed — sometimes heavily — against the roofs over their heads.
Now the bill is coming due.posted by plexi at 3:57 AM PST - 122 comments
Y
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gtkowopyk yggkopywotfd nq Etvyfd ioi xtkktl. Ftl, y peqgwtmeyv od, xte vyfq, y
gtgakye utnnq. Yf yggetypu wt y dtkawotf pyf waef taw nydop, dapu yd kttrofm xte
dutew lteid, te ioxxopakw--peqgwyfykqdod, adofm
cayfwowq tx ofiojoiayk dqvntkd te
iomeygud.
Getmeyvd pyf ykdt yddodw, ox y peqgwtmeyv weakq ptfxtafid qta. Y ltei tx lyefofm, wutamu--peqgwtmeyvd pyf eaf ag ymyofdw domfoxopyfw ptvgkopywotfd ox netamuw ag ymyofdw y
kogtmeyv, luopu od y xtev tx lteigkyq of luopu y gyewopakye dqvntk od ktdw xetv y gyeymeygu tx leowofm. Te, ox y gyeymeygu od wtt voki,
y nttr tx xoxwq wutadyfi lteid. (Y jykoyfw iodgkyq tx vydtpuodv.) Y dyvgkofm tx
geote yew.
posted by Upton O'Good at 12:00 AM PST - 39 comments
March 26
Cliffhangers "In Focus" is an entertaining, well-written overview of the rise and decline of action serial movies of the 1930s and 40s. It also includes rundowns of many major serial films of the time. Several of these serials are now available online. Links to them are inside.
[more inside]posted by cog_nate at 7:29 PM PST - 4 comments
A World Without Me. Not
Us.
"Wolves roam freely, scavenging for food and drinking out of the toilet. An antelope buries its snout in a half-empty box of Cheerios. A mountain lion knocks over the milk, rendering the entire kitchen and part of the connecting hall uninhabitable for several months."posted by takeyourmedicine at 8:02 AM PST - 22 comments
In honor of the 5-year anniversary of the Iraq War, PBS'
Frontline presented a fantastic 2- part special on the issue this past Monday and Tuesday. It is now available in it's entirety online along with interview transcripts from senior officials, a video timeline of the war, and battlefield stories from soldiers.
Bush's Warposted by auralcoral at 6:29 AM PST - 100 comments
March 25
ROM CHECK FAIL is a goofy little PC game, in the classic 1980's arcade/home console genre of ... err ...
Use the space bar to fire your blaster. Or sword. (Or jump.) Use the arrow keys to control your ... guy as if you were playing ... that ... classic game. Eliminate all the enemy, well, things in the expected way, and go on to the next maze/planet/cave/highway. Look, just play it, OK? It's fun!
posted by CrunchyFrog at 11:53 PM PST - 16 comments
"Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage is an international educational exhibition which presents the history of tolerance and cohabitation of various ethnic groups in the territory of Polish-Lithuanian Commowealth and is addressed primarily to foreigners all around the world
". This is achieved via a very beautiful flash site.
posted by peacay at 9:12 PM PST - 11 comments
Global warming - good for elephants? The melting of the tundra means that more wooly mammoth remains are surfacing. And this means more mammoth ivory for carvings and other purposes. The linked article says conservationists are happy with this development, as it means ivory for the Asian market coming from extinct species rather than species that are nearly extinct. But is this really the answer?
posted by Megami at 4:53 PM PST - 24 comments
Have a crush on someone you only know online? Want to make them a mixtape but you don't have their physical address? Not a problem, thanks to
Muxtape, an online mixtape manager. Just upload up to 12 tracks, and a custom URL is provided.
Via.
posted by jonson at 3:34 PM PST - 55 comments
Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old, a film by Alan Lomax, takes a loving look at the talents and wisdom of elderly musicians, singers, and story-tellers from southern American folk traditions. All the musicians featured in the film have soul and musical energy to spare: great, great performances and engaging reminiscences make this film a real treat. Please see the [more inside] for a collection of links to several of the outstanding performers featured in the film.
[more inside]posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:02 PM PST - 15 comments
The International Dance Party is a complete plug 'n' play party in a box (
video). "The machine comes as a large, non-suspicious looking flightcase. Internally, it is equipped with cutting edge radar sensing technology, an ear blasting state of the art 600W sound system, tons of psychedelic light and laser effects, and even a professional grade fog machine." [
via,
via]
posted by pithy comment at 1:50 PM PST - 18 comments
Y'all think whatever you want about Michael Jackson
now, knaamean? But on this day back in 1983,
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was being taped before a live audience. Since he was no longer contractually tied to Motown, MJ planned to attend but not perform at the function; he was finally able to negotiate a solo spot singing a non-Motown song.
Thriller had been released more than a year prior;
Billie Jean had been the Number One single on Billboard's Top 100 for two weeks. It was time for a Pop Culture "Do you remember where you were when...?" moment.
And then came the moonwalk.posted by t2urner at 1:00 PM PST - 82 comments
Hezbollah-Tofu Renegades systematically vegetarianize recipes from antiveganist chef Anthony Bourdain, who wrote (in
Kitchen Confidential): “Vegetarians, and their Hezobollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn.”
[more inside]posted by joeclark at 11:57 AM PST - 181 comments
The Great Tantra Challenge -
"On 3 March 2008, in a popular TV show, Sanal Edamaruku, the president of Rationalist International, challenged India’s most “powerful” tantrik (black magician) to demonstrate his powers on him. That was the beginning of an unprecedented experiment."posted by Burhanistan at 8:30 AM PST - 64 comments
GeeksOn "A show created by Geeks for Geeks, covering topics that Geeks like to talk about." This is one of my favorite podcasts out there, most topics they cover are talked about in a very smart manner with lots of philosophy and moral quandaries thrown in, and they have gone on to get some great interviews with various people in Geek culture including
Christina Hendricks, who plays Saffron from Firefly, and its Producer, Lisa Lassek(Christina is the sister of one of the geeks),
Orson Scott Card,
George R.R. Martin,
Forrest J Ackerman,
Garrett Wang, and the man himself
Joss Whedon!
[more inside]posted by Del Far at 8:30 AM PST - 17 comments
50 years ago today (March 25), the
first flight of the AVRO Arrow took place. At the time, the aircraft was considered to be one of the
most advanced aircraft then flying, with a flexible airfame design that allowed for a wide variety of missions. To this day, rumours persist that the
abrupt cancellation of the AVRO Arrow was due to pressure from US military aircraft contractors who feared losing several of their own lucrative contracts to the new jet. Rumours also recur from time to time that a
“missing Arrow” was squirrelled away somewhere, a future treasure find for Canadian Arrow buffs. One thing almost everyone agrees on: cancelling the Arrow in favour of
a ballistic missile was the
worst disaster ever to befall aviation in Canada. But it probably helped put
men on the moon a lot sooner than would otherwise have been the case.
posted by Mike D at 8:06 AM PST - 32 comments
March 24
Do you love
South Park but you wish you could watch all the episodes on your own time? Uncensored? Without waiting for (or paying for) the DVDs? If so,
South Park Studios just answered your prayers.
Since
the Daily Show recently did the same thing - is Comedy Central making big waves, or big mistakes?
[more inside]posted by revmitcz at 10:30 PM PST - 47 comments
Ever have a job working for a record label on a
street crew. And yer puttin up publicity posters on lightpoles for an artist like
Rocko and some asshole won't stop takin yer
picture.
Whadda you do then? Break his friggin
camera.
posted by Xurando at 2:51 PM PST - 79 comments
Emilio Gonzalez, Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, will be
resigning next month. To mark the occasion, the
New York Times prints an
editorial exposing the magnitude of the case backlog that USCIS currently faces, and their decided lack of speed in handling said backlog. Gonzalez doesn't like the editorial, so he
blogs about it. And that's when the
comments start rolling in.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:07 PM PST - 37 comments
March 23
Every One That Hates Billy....” It featured a photograph of Billy’s face superimposed over a likeness of Peter Pan, and provided this description of its purpose: “There is no reason anyone should like billy he’s a little bitch. And a homosexual that NO ONE LIKES.”
Billy, busy building a miniature house, didn’t see it coming: the boy hit him so hard in the left cheek that he briefly lost consciousness. [His mother] remembers the family dentist sewing up the inside of Billy’s cheek, and a school official refusing to call the police, saying it looked like Billy got what he deserved.
[more inside]posted by orthogonality at 11:05 PM PST - 267 comments
Edinburgh author
Iain M. Banks, creator of the post capitalist space faring society
The Culture and it's
oddly named ships, has long been the UKs top science fiction writer, but has never had
more than a toehold in the US (in part through lack of availability, in part due to lack of promotion and in part due to some pretty
awful covers. That could change:
Matter, his latest, has been heavily promoted in the US and sports a cover nearly identical to the UK edition. This week
Orbit are releasing US editions of the two earliest Culture novels, with the third following in July, which could mean a complete release of all the novels in the US in order.
[more inside]posted by Artw at 11:00 PM PST - 160 comments
NEC plans to market a system later this year that can derive someone's gender and age from images captured with a camera "The system compares the photo against a database of several thousand faces to figure gender and age based on such factors as facial shape and wrinkles. " According to Nikkei Weekly 01/28/2008 Edition. Link goes to Ubergizmo.
"It's called FieldAnalyst and it's from NEC. The system homes in on faces of people who pass by the video camera. It then rapidly compares the image against samples in a database. It then spits out what it believes is your approximate age is and your gender." .."NEC scientists may next try to add clothing as a characteristic and classify people by whether they wear a suit or a T-shirt." more
hereposted by celerystick at 10:46 PM PST - 9 comments
realscoop.com "utilizes proven voice analysis technology to analyze statements made by public figures." The statements being on videos. They're all over Bill Clinton and Reagan. Bush and current candidates - not so much.
[more inside]posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:57 PM PST - 23 comments
Speaking of speeches, David Eggers
delivers one at TED on grassroots community tutoring for kids who need help with their English homework: "There's something about the kids finishing their homework in a given day, working one on one, getting all this attention. They finish their homework, they go home -- they're finished. They don't stall. They don't do their homework in front of the TV. They're allowed to go home 5:30, enjoy their family, enjoy other hobbies, get outside, play and that makes a happy family. A bunch of happy families in a neighborhood is a happy community. A bunch of happy communities tied together is a happy city and a happy world, right? So, the key to it all is homework." Love him or hate him (
mefi consensus) it's a great example of
nervous energy microphilanthropy,
social entrepreneurship and, if I may make the connection,
machines of
loving grace. [
previously]
posted by kliuless at 7:22 AM PST - 26 comments
With Comcast, your TV watches you. Comcast is developing cable boxes with cameras to watch the room. They will know who is there to provide shows in your profile, engage parental controls, and of course, deliver targeted advertising.
Ceiling Cat Comcast is watching you....
posted by caddis at 5:59 AM PST - 44 comments
The
locavore movement arose in recognition of the high environmental costs associated with imported food, particularly with respect to global warming (
previously). This
article from The Guardian (London) suggests that the carbon cost-benefit equation may be very hard to calculate, and that local (at least, without organic) may not always be better. As a planet we seem to be boxing ourselves into a very tight little environmental corner.
posted by cogneuro at 5:15 AM PST - 43 comments
March 22
If you were a North American kid (well, a kid stuck at home, younger than driving age) in the late 70s/early 80s, your Saturday nights were likely spent in front of the television watching
The Love Boat. The show subsequently gained worldwide popularity. Did you know that the
Pacific Princess is still ferrying the lovelorn across the blue abyss, and that she has a
bridgecam? Did you know there were Love Boat
action figures? For your nostalgic pleasure: complete
episode guide, complete
guest star list,
theme song video (variations
1,
2,
3),
lyrics and chords, and
song facts.
posted by amyms at 11:33 PM PST - 47 comments
Hitler Speaks
Using advanced speech recognition technology, researchers and voice-over actors have been able to put a soundtrack to long-silent video relics of Adolf Hitler:
Eva Braun's infamous home movies filmed at the
Berghof, private filmed meetings between Hitler and various Reich cronies, as well as the last known footage of him taped before an awkward bunch of Hitler Youth at the Reichstag in the final days of the war made famous in
Downfall. Chilling stuff.
Via.
posted by auralcoral at 2:39 PM PST - 177 comments
March 21
Brilliant Women: The Blue Stocking Circle was a group of intellectuals with a strong desire to discuss, analyze, and examine the social, political, and educational problems of the day Mostly female intellectuals, but they included many prominent men as well.
They assembled in the London homes of literary hostesses such as Elizabeth Montagu, Frances Boscawen and Elizabeth Vesey in the 1750s form the nucleus of the exhibition. .... At first, all the party-goers were nicknamed blues, but from the 1770s, the "bluestocking" tag was applied to the women members in particular. By the time of Montagu's death in 1800, any female intellectual might be labelled a bluestocking, whether or not she could claim a link to the original circle.posted by caddis at 8:25 PM PST - 10 comments
Shareminer is a clownsuit engine that searches for files upped to Rapidshare, Megaupload, SendSpace, ZShare, and other similar one click hosts. A great tool for locating full, rare, and out of print albums.
[more inside]posted by item at 10:16 AM PST - 47 comments
Pathetic Geek Stories is back! After a hiatus of almost three years we can once again revel in new comic strips detailing people's most humiliating youthful (and inevitably cringe-worthy) moments.
posted by wsg at 9:17 AM PST - 23 comments
"Good afternoon, I attached this camera to the bench so you could take pictures. Seriously. So have fun. I'll be back later this evening to pick it up. Love, Jay / The Plug". Stranger Photos Have Happened.
posted by nthdegx at 4:03 AM PST - 57 comments
The Starbucks reinvention. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Howard Schultz announces thorough overhaul,
unveils new espresso maker as replacement for oft-criticized Verismo machines. Yet some observers
insist that the Mastrena solution, which puts a premium on consistency, will come up with low marks in quality and taste.
posted by Gordion Knott at 3:21 AM PST - 61 comments
March 20
If burying Old Blue or Fluffy in the backyard just doesn't seem good enough, don't worry, for anywhere between $6,000 and $128,000, you can have them
mummified old school style. Or if having to leave them on display in the living room while you leave the house seems just too hard, you could always
wear them. Or of course you could always just have them
turned into diamonds.posted by Lutoslawski at 5:26 PM PST - 32 comments
The 400 Million 四萬萬人民 - China, 1938 (53 minutes / sound / black&white / 35mm) Directed: Joris Ivens. Camera: ROBERT CAPA. Parts:
1
2
3
4
5
6
"The Japanese aggression against China in 1937 forced the Chinese communists and Chiang Kai-shek's Kwomintang to take up the joint battle against their common enemy. With modern weapons the Chinese are pursuing their struggle behind enemy lines. This film shows all aspects of a war: the battle, the preparations, refugees, casualties and victims, the fear and distress, the human misery and the courage, and the land under fire."
posted by vronsky at 1:13 PM PST - 8 comments
ElfQuest for free...gradually. The complete ElfQuest comic oeuvre (about 6000 pages) is being released online in batches every friday. The first five issues (a complete 150 page arc in itself), along with some other EQ series's first issues, are already up.
posted by Sparx at 10:11 AM PST - 54 comments
Polyglot
Michel Thomas came to prominence through his work for the French resistance and the
successful interrogation of Nazis (who had formerly imprisoned him). After the war he started to develop (and eventually
patent) a method for teaching languages that eschewed notes, books, writing, memorisation and homework. Instead, words and phrases would be built up in lego-like constructions to provide “confidence in hours not years”. He gave private lessons to
a long list of A-list celebrities including Woody Allen, Natasha Kinsky, Tony Curtis and Grace Kelly. A BBC documentary from 1997 told his story and tested him out with the less exalted audience of 16 year old London school kids pre-selected to be “incapable of learning a foreign language” by their teachers [YT pt
1,
2,
3,
4]. He was secretive about how his methods worked until the end of his life when he finally made his
courses available as audiobooks.
[more inside]posted by rongorongo at 7:00 AM PST - 24 comments
First, a bit of an
introduction to the game of
Cricket (youtube) for those of us who may not be
familiar with the
sport. Next, a few
clips (1, 2, 3, 4) on how
awesome the
Gentleman's Game can be (and you thought we didn't do anything but roam around in our white pants and cotton shirts...). But, if that wasn't enough for you, then here's a taste of
Twenty20 Cricket (the
fast,
fast paced version of the game), and the new
DLF Indian (pdf) Premier League. (This is in addition to the
One Day Matches, which were instituted to bring in a bit more excitement into the game during the 1970's, prior to which the match only consisted of
Tests. However, some purists still maintain that the game would've been better served had it not been
commercalized to the extent that it has, and still prefer the leisurely pace of the original format to its current incarnation.)
[more inside]posted by hadjiboy at 6:22 AM PST - 56 comments
Labor of Love : when a married couple wanted to start a family and the wife was unable to conceive or carry because of previous surgeries, her husband, who is transgendered and legally male, stopped taking his testosterone and was inseminated.
posted by FunkyHelix at 6:21 AM PST - 118 comments
First, and foremost, here is
La Caíta - El Pájaro
Negro. Could there be singing anymore heartfelt than this ? I
wonder. And here she is, in an ancillary role, with the
Amaya family. Also, from Spain, here is
Tchavolo Schmitt, Dorado Schmitt & Hono Winterstein - Kali Sara & Tchavolo swing. From Romania, here are
Taraf de
Haïdouks and, from them, here is
Taraf de Haïdouks and of them, here is
Balada Conducatorolui - Nicolae Neacsu. From the
Thar of
Rajasthan, here is the very charismatic
Talab Khan
Barna, and here, from Egypt, is
Bambi
Saidi. And let the etymological connection between
Egypt
and
gypsy be noted here and now, by the way.
All of
these are. of course, excerpts from
Latcho Drom.
[more inside]posted by y2karl at 6:10 AM PST - 7 comments
March 19
Bad Gift Emporium. Can't stand to look at that glittery unicorn statue from Aunt Ethel any longer? Can't bear to wear the hand-knitted sweater from Grandma Agnes (made from her own cat's hair)? Want to offer your horrific gift items to people who can truly appreciate them, or just share the misery? The Bad Gift Emporium is for you.
posted by amyms at 7:32 PM PST - 13 comments
Columbia Business School doesn't like Ben Bernanke. The Previous Link is a
Music Video from Columbia Business School. No Billy Joel, but it is a music parody. You might not like music parodies which is A-Okay, but this is a financial focused music parody from a business school improv group. It made me smile wanely a few times, but I still enjoyed it. You might not. I am sorry if you do not. If you don't, maybe you would like a video about
munchkin kittens. [more inside]posted by Lord_Pall at 8:42 AM PST - 22 comments
Bobby Dunbar was a four year-old boy that vanished in 1912, while on a fishing trip with his family in a Louisiana swamp. For weeks, searchers combed the area looking for him. The lake where he went missing was dynamited. Alligators were captured and had their bellies slit open to see if the body was inside. Nothing was found except a set of child's footprints leading to an old railroad trestle. Eight months later, the police found Bobby in the company of a drifter with a horse-drawn cart. He protested his innocence but was arrested and charged with kidnapping. Another woman came forward and claimed Bobby was, in fact, her son. But she was an unmarried fieldworker, and her claims were dismissed. The crime became a nationwide
media event and the boy was returned to his parents, and their hometown held a parade in his honor. Bobby returned to his life. Ninety-one years later, Bobby Dunbar's granddaughter uncovered
the truth.
posted by smoothvirus at 7:22 AM PST - 78 comments
March 18
Obama's Gettysburg Address. Today we saw and heard a preview of our brightest possible American future in Senator Barack Obama's glorious speech. This, then, is what it means to be presidential. To be moral. To have a real center. To speak honestly, from the heart, for the benefit of all. If there was any doubt about what we have missed in the anti-intellectual, ruthlessly incurious Bush years, and even the slippery Clinton ones (the years of "what is is"), those doubts were laid to rest by Barack Obama's magisterial speech today. A speech in which he distanced himself from a flawed father figure, Reverend Wright, and did so with almost Shakespearian dignity and honor. One of the most important speeches on race in decades if not longer. (
text)
[more inside]posted by caddis at 9:31 PM PST - 1126 comments
Hey, get outta bed, you! What? Say you had one too many on Paddy's Day? Well, friend, just down a little hair of the dog and we'll dance it off! That's right! Some jigs, a couple of reels and a hornpipe or two, from Irish button accordion maestros
John Whelan,
Michael O'Connel,
Damien Mullane, and
Keith Gildea. And for good measure,
Edel Fox on the concertina, and
Bobby Gardiner on the melodeon. Just the thing to chase that nasty ol' hangover away!
[more inside]posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:30 PM PST - 14 comments
The University of South Carolina recently completed an
ambitious survey of all medieval texts in the state for an exhibit at the university library. All the works were scanned and archived electronically. However, not only can you
view the texts online, you can hear the university's chorus
sing (MP3) the musical manuscripts.
[more inside]posted by 1f2frfbf at 11:54 AM PST - 8 comments
March 17
If you've bought anything at a Hannaford or a Sweetbay store in the last three months and paid with your credit or debit card,
you could be in trouble. Between December 7 and March 10, someone tapped into their credit card authorization datastream. The blackhat stole 4.2
million credit card numbers. Some of those have already seen illicit activity. The Hannaford corporation
apologizes for the inconvenience.
posted by Class Goat at 10:16 PM PST - 27 comments
"It's just like
judging a beautiful girl," said Fowzan al-Madr. "You look for big eyes, long lashes and a long neck." The art and science of Saudi Arabian
camel beauty pageants. More Riyadh market photos
here. Lots of information about Dromedary (Arabian) camels
here and
here. Listen to Dromedary camel sounds and read about Saudi camel history at
this site.
posted by amyms at 8:08 PM PST - 33 comments
51-year-old
Brad Williams, a radio anchor in La Crosse, Wisconsin, can “recall the most trifling dates and details about his life….[n]ame a date from the last 40 years and, after a few moments, he can typically tell you what he did that day and what was in the news.” Brad has
Hyperthymesia, a condition where the affected person has incredible recall of the most trivial events in his/her life. Neuroscientist
James McGaugh and
others at the University of California, Irvine, are studying Williams for clues as to his remarkable abilities [
video]. Williams (aka '
Google Man' |
video)
vs. The Internet [video]. His brother, Eric, is working on a documentary about Brad –
Unforgettable [
trailer].
posted by ericb at 4:54 PM PST - 19 comments
I shot his plane down. First his fighter plane was just lost under unknown circumstances during WWII. People speculated on a possible suicide of the writer. Then his golden armband was found by a fisherman in the sea.
Then the plane of well known french writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
was found in the mediteranean.
Now 88 year old journalist Horst Rippert, who was a fighter pilot during WWII,
admits that he shot down Saint-Exupéry and that he regretted this his whole life.
posted by jouke at 9:41 AM PST - 36 comments
Circuit relays, fulcrums and pulleys support not just exercise, but concepts in science and social studies, thanks to an innovative
gym teacher.
[more inside]posted by skyper at 5:00 AM PST - 14 comments
March 16
Bulgaria's abandoned children. This heartrending BBC documentary visits a home for abandoned children in Bulgaria; they are left there by parents who can't - or won't - take care of "defective" children. But poor nutrition and uncaring workers have turned it into a hell on earth for the poor kids as they waste away; some are never taken off their toilets, some are left in bed until their limbs atrophy. Many cannot speak. Only one can write. Most just sit and rock for hours because of the lack of stimulus.
Very hard to watch.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 4:49 PM PST - 20 comments
Thomas Jefferson so wanted to fix what he thought was wrong with religion that he
rewrote the Bible.
He went through and cut out the parts that he liked most and pasted it to a fifth volume. He cut out Miracles. He cut out the Christmas story. He cut out most of the Easter story. Resurrection is gone.
Wikipedia.
previouslyposted by nax at 1:36 PM PST - 64 comments
Two historic photography collections from Sydney's Powerhouse Museum:
The Tyrell Collection - glass plate negatives from the Sydney studios of Charles Kerry and Henry King from 1884-1917 depicting a local record of the times; and the
Hedda Morrison Collection - photographs from China, 1933-1946. The collection also includes personal papers and objects, such as Chinese papercuts, belt toggles, and photos from a 1930s-era folk festival in Germany.
posted by madamjujujive at 9:22 AM PST - 4 comments
March 15
Ladies, have you ever dreamt of being
whisked away kidnapped by a dashing young Prince? Or being swept off your feet and losing your virginity to a dark and mysterious
stranger, who happens to be a Sheikh? Or how about being sold to an Arab aristocracy and living off the rest of your days in married
bliss. No? Then how about considering a Royal who is so
down-to-earth you won't meet anyone else quite like him? Much better than the alternative of marrying his
polar opposite, don't you think? Of course, you can always
try and keep it platonic if you wanted to. Welcome to the wonderful world of
Sheikhs and Desert Love, where all of your
fantasies can come true!
(via)posted by hadjiboy at 11:49 PM PST - 44 comments
20 Biggest Record Company Screw-Ups of All Time from Blender Magazine. "They include MCA Records’ decision in 1989 to pass on a Seattle upstart band called Nirvana while also betting big on “Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz,” the debut album of a hair-metal band called Pretty Boy Floyd."
posted by plexi at 11:46 PM PST - 50 comments
Cope pipe without a jig. Enter a few parameters and get a pdf that will give you a printable pattern that will allow you to notch tubing for welding or brazing to another pipe.
posted by Mitheral at 6:19 PM PST - 35 comments
If you had HBO in the 80's, you saw
this every night at 8pm. HBO put together a brief behind-the-scenes
featurette showing everything from the construction of the models to the composition of the music.
posted by dr_dank at 12:05 PM PST - 63 comments
March 14
March 13
Typematching: Can Mistral find love with Papyrus? Who cares? Scroll down to find out which of these 6 stereotypical fonts is
your type...
"But...but... I can't be Comic Sans!!!"posted by wendell at 8:59 PM PST - 47 comments
Discoveries made using satellite imagery,
particularly via Google Earth, have made
headlines in the
blue and
green before. Increasingly high-resolution photos, combined with obsessive
interest, have lead inevitably to the next step: interpretation
and analysis of spots on the Earth's surface for which information is
restricted, censored, or classified, such as the preparedness of military defenses in
North Korea and
Iran, or the viability of Saudi Arabia's
next big oil play. Of course, not all mapping is
benevolent.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 8:17 PM PST - 9 comments
Celemony are a bunch of crazy German software engineers known best for making Melodyne, a family of top of the line pitch correction tools. Apparently they've recently figured out how to do what they do with polyphonic audio.
I can't begin to explain how cool this is. Just
watch the video.posted by stenseng at 4:10 PM PST - 122 comments
Phoenix is sort of a robotic spider, except for the minor detail of only having six legs. It's self-contained, and remotely controlled using Bluetooth. The movements are calculated using an Excel spreadsheet, and it moves
beautifully. (
via)
posted by Class Goat at 4:06 PM PST - 38 comments
(Yayoi) Tsushima, a bassist; Ma(ri), a guitarist; Mi(zue), a drummer. Mix 'em up (mamire) and you get
Tshusimamire or Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re or TSMMR or つしまみれ, infamous and rocking female Japanese combo. The real deal -- good singing and playing in tight arrangements that turn on a dime, mixing surf, psychobilly, funk, grunge, traditional Japanese melodies, and more.
[more inside]posted by Herodios at 1:48 PM PST - 27 comments
Widely Ranging Interests is a weekly podcast where two guys discuss their favorite obscure and arcane topics, from sea kayak marlin fishing to the history of the balaclava. Addicting.
posted by fungible at 12:49 PM PST - 14 comments
March 12
Save Polaroid The Polaroid company announced last month that it will stop making instant film next year.
Save Polaroid is lobbing Fuji Film and Illford to license the instant film technology and save the product. For a good link about the history and current state of Polarod watch this
video by Michael Blanchard.
posted by doug3505 at 10:18 PM PST - 62 comments
"How many brain scientists have the chance to study a stroke from the inside?" In 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor did (
previously), and she recently gave a moving
TED talk on her experience. If that merely whetted your appetite for more brainy videos, check out the complete archive of UCSD TV's
Grey Matters, a series of lectures on the brain. And for dessert,
The Parts of the Brain, as performed by Pinky and The Brain. [via
Neurophilosophy]
posted by natabat at 9:44 PM PST - 14 comments
The press want something that'll sell copy. They pick up on the mental hospital, family stuff, try to invent some category of rock that I belong to, or perhaps they pick up on my drug problem. But it gets to the point sooner or later when you start to think about your kids: "What does your daddy do for a living?" "He plays the guitar and he talks about his drug problems." It's embarrassing to read the drivel that comes out of your mouth sometimes. So I guess maybe the question is, why am I doing this in the first place? And honestly, I suppose I'm doing it because I'd like to promote my record. -1979 .
James Taylor is sixty today.posted by Navelgazer at 2:15 PM PST - 55 comments
The Sound Of Clothes features
the precise sound of fashion materials such as feathers, sequins, glass crystals and beads, nylon, taffeta, leather, velvet, jacquard, zips and metallic chains, recorded in an anechoic chamber.
Videos linked from the page might be NSFW.posted by jack_mo at 9:58 AM PST - 26 comments
It's 3 a.m., on some date in 1975, the white line is wavering in front of your amphetamine bleached eyes, your rig is barreling through the high plains north of nowhere and you won't see your woman for three more days, what 8-track do you need to get you through the night? Why,
Country Porn, of course.
Linked page is mostly safe for work, but NSFW audio files, and some text [more inside]posted by 1f2frfbf at 8:33 AM PST - 27 comments
The Gallery of Graphic Design has a huge collection of magazine print adverts from the 30s to the late 60s. The images are fairly large and organised/searchable by year, product, magazine and advertiser.
[via]posted by peacay at 7:37 AM PST - 21 comments
March 11
LugRadio is a fortnightly British radio show that takes a relaxed, humorous look at Linux and open source.
posted by finite at 10:22 PM PST - 2 comments
"We need to make a comic so I can eat lunch." You're in your office sitting at your desk. There's a hot mic in the room. It's 45 minutes 'till lunch, your tummy's grumbling and you still have to write a comic. Fortunately your best friend -- who is also the co-founder of your decade-old business empire -- is sitting at his desk a few feet away. You are "Gabe" or "Tycho" of Penny Arcade, and the next 45 minutes will be captured on tape and published for all the world to hear as a podcast. But only if it's good. "
Downloadable Content, The Penny Arcade Podcast" is practically a documentary on collaboratively authoring webcomics. The most recent episode is a particularly good example of that.
[more inside]posted by sdodd at 8:20 PM PST - 23 comments
Little Walter ushered into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame As I heard about the entry of Madonna, Leonard Cohen, the Ventures and the Dave Clark 5 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yesterday, one name way at the end of the list brought music to my ears. Little Walter Jacobs was only the best blues harmonica player ever to come out of Chicago from the Delta. Ever. Period. He has influenced everyone you every thought was a good blues harmonica player.
[more inside]posted by fellene at 8:01 PM PST - 11 comments
Remember old D&D? What, 3rd edition? Pah! Not 2nd edition AD&D either, nor 1st edition. Not even "original" Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortal. I'm talking
really original D&D, based off of Chainmail wargaming rules.
OD&D! Read about it at
Delta's D&D Hotspot, which discusses the development of a game system that is almost 35 years old.
[more inside]posted by JHarris at 7:12 PM PST - 23 comments
"On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of
salvia divinorum, come-ons
to buy the hallucinogenic herb are accompanied by warnings: 'Time is running out! ... stock up while you still can.' That's because
salvia is being targeted by lawmakers concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana....Among those who believe the commotion over the drug is overblown is
Rick Doblin of the
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit group that does research on psychedelic drugs and whose goal is to develop psychedelics and marijuana into prescription medication."
* "Salvia Divinorum is a small leafy green plant found primarily in the Mazateca region of Mexico. Sometimes called '
diviner's sage' the plant was traditionally used by indigenous peoples as a healing and divinatory aid due to its unique properties when chewed or smoked. When consumed in this manner, the active ingredient,
Salvinorin-A produces psychedelic effects in the body ranging from mild to extreme."
* [previously - 1, 2]posted by ericb at 2:42 PM PST - 95 comments
British Political Cartoonists have always had a certain "
edge". Also seen
here,
and again
here.
The UK Guardian's cartoonist
Steve Bell (each cartoon has its related news story) was first noted for his cartoon
"If.." starting pre Falkland's war, and starring a cast including God, Margaret Thatcher and a
Penguin.
Here is some of his earlier
work.
Political Cartoon
history
includes A Cartoonist's
response to the events of 9/11 by
Martin Rowson, also from the Guardian.
posted by adamvasco at 2:20 PM PST - 12 comments
Where no economist had gone before . Paul Krugman posts a type-written paper on interstellar trade which he wrote as "an oppressed assistant professor" in the '70s.
I do not propose to develop a theory which is universally valid, but it may at least have some galactic relevance. [
pdf link]
posted by grobstein at 12:38 PM PST - 25 comments
Inspired by the staccato brilliance of political bitch-fest The McLaughlin Group, rocker Andrew W.K. has composed a
song (direct mp3) based on a particularly scattered exchange. Here he is
explaining the process on the public radio show "Fair Game." The song has already sponsored a
video tribute.
[more inside]posted by jtajta at 12:17 PM PST - 19 comments
Doing More With Less: In Defense of Creative Loafing I’ve been on unemployment three times in the past six years. Each time was better than the last, and each time I stayed on until the last cent was exhausted. I didn’t even try to get a job; it was a paid vacation. This is somewhat unusual from what I can tell. There’s a deep vein of antipathy in this country toward collecting checks from the government, especially in precincts that tend to skew rightward. Politicians imply that it’s un-American for an individual to milk the government, all while jacking up corporate welfare for their campaign contributors. And your uncle who cheered at the end of Easy Rider? He insists that if he had to obliterate 40 years of his life punching a clock, why should you goddamn hippies have it any better?posted by jason's_planet at 11:36 AM PST - 107 comments
I Wanna Be The Guy is an insanely addictive and sadistically difficult independently developed video game that takes you on a wacky romp through some truly brilliantly designed stages. Along the way you have to best gaming history's most perilous adversaries, like a Giant Radioactive Zangief.
[more inside]posted by aftermarketradio at 11:24 AM PST - 20 comments
The paintings on Nerdkore by Jeremiah Palecek started when he asked readers "What should I paint today?" and they responded. The result (so far) is a bunch of famous YouTube videos captured in oil on canvas, showing stills from some all-time favorites (techno viking, grape stomp, etc
oh and NSFW on the oldest entry at the bottom of the page). (via
Josh Spear)
posted by mathowie at 9:48 AM PST - 19 comments
Obama and
Race:
"In short, the success of Barack Obama has proven, perhaps more so than any other single thing could, just how powerful race remains in America. His success, far from disproving white power and privilege, confirms it with a vengeance."
Tim Wise, an American anti-racist activist, writer, and author of
White Like Me, has published two new essays about Obama, racism, and the 2008 election bid. More can be found on his official
website.
posted by lunit at 7:22 AM PST - 176 comments
[Former Novell chief scientist] Jeff Merkey,... claims [Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy] Wales told him in 2006 that in exchange for a substantial donation from Merkey, he would edit his uncomplimentary Wikipedia entry to make it more favourable. Merkey made a $US5000 ([AU]$5455) donation in 2006... around the same time, Wales personally made changes to [Merkey's Wikipedia] entry after wiping it out completely and ordering editors to start over.
But it's all in a good cause, to keep Wikipedia ad-free, right? Well, no, according to
Danny Wool, Wales's former "right-hand man" at Wikipedia: Wool says
Wales used the contributions to pay for, among other things, Russian massages and as much as $650 on wine for a dinner for four, while Wales traveled at Wikipedia's expense. And though Wikipedia paid his expenses, Wool claims that Wales kept the proceeds:
"At one point [Wales] owed the Foundation some $30,000 in receipts, and this while we were preparing for the audit. Not a bad sum, considering that many of those trips had fat honoraria, which Jimbeau kept for himself."posted by orthogonality at 1:51 AM PST - 93 comments
March 10
Revenge of the Experts. The individual user has been king on the Internet, but the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward edited information vetted by professionals. "Fueling this is advertising revenue, it is easier to woo advertisers with the promise of controlled content than with hit-and-miss blog blather. 'Nobody wants to advertise next to crap' ".
posted by stbalbach at 10:27 PM PST - 25 comments
Corsets - a
very comprehensive collection of information about foundation garments. The site is generously illustrated, so it may be NSFW.
posted by tellurian at 8:17 PM PST - 15 comments
"It's the first time since Japanese Internment that we've imprisoned children" -- from
a post displaying
a letter written by a 9 year old Canadian.
posted by mathowie at 7:15 PM PST - 72 comments
Two years ago, then NSA-chief Gen. Michael Hayden said its domestic surveillance program was "not a driftnet over Lackawanna or Fremont or Dearborn, grabbing all communications and then sifting them out."
Today,
a story in the Wall Street Journal alleges this is precisely what is happening.
Total Information Awareness seems to not have died, but to have just been quietly absorbed into the NSA's already extensive surveillance apparatus, all without the hassle of any kind of transparency or oversight.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:35 PM PST - 70 comments
I first stumbled across
Leoncie in open-mouthed disbelief about two years ago. When her
website disappeared I imagined that we'd lost her forever, but last month she returned with her own
YouTube channel.
While our unfiltered, unmoderated internet has pushed a lot of "outsider art" into the mainstream, Leoncie has remained firmly stuck in obscurity; maybe these gobsmackingly low-rent videos will change that? Until today, I'd only been able to imagine the full glory of songs like
Radio Rapist, or the beguiling
Man! Let's Have Fun, or indeed the frankly exhausting
Invisible Girl. But
Sex Crazy Cop and
Killer In The Park, with their carnivalesque spin on the grim world of law enforcement, are probably my favourites. Astonishing.
posted by rhodri at 11:21 AM PST - 25 comments
Presented in a way that is familiar to gimmicky kitchen appliances, this
frightening weapon can fire 120,000 rounds per minute without a human operator. It makes no noise or flash, and can be mounted anywhere and is operated remotely.
[more inside]posted by hellslinger at 10:05 AM PST - 84 comments
Obama supporter shocked to see herself in Hillary ad. "Especially because she's a fierce supporter of Barack Obama." "But the young girl starring in the ad will actually be voting age next month and says she's no fan of Hillary Clinton." The footage is another example of the risks of using stock film or images to convey an advertising message. The footage comes from
Getty Footage Stock. FYI that footage prices out at around $ 2,500 for national advertising usage. {
via}
posted by doug3505 at 9:33 AM PST - 125 comments
Islamic terrorists are more likely to be engineers than members of any other profession--and not because engineers possess superior technological skills. That's the conclusion of a
controversial Oxford University study that has the
engineering community
buzzing. (PDF)
The study's disturbing finding blames what it calls a universal engineering mindset, which it describes as one drawn to structure and rules plus clear, single solutions to complex problems. When coupled with the harsh realities of life in many Islamic countries, terrorism can be the result, the study says.
~ Via
EETimes [more inside]posted by infini at 8:57 AM PST - 68 comments
[NSFW, except in the can] The Barn Owl Fart -
A familiarity with owl calls is helpful in identifying this fart. Almost any morning if you get up just before daybreak you can hear one of these birds talking to himself. It's a sort of a crazy laugh, particularly the way it ends. If you hear a fart that has about eight notes in it, ending on a couple of down notes, and it sounds maniacal, you have heard the rare Barn Owl Fart. [more inside]posted by not_on_display at 5:34 AM PST - 15 comments
March 9
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the
Holodomor. The
Holodomor was the starvation of millions of Ukranians at the hands of the Soviets. The Ukranian government is using this year to push for greater recognition for the genocide. Ukranian communities in
Australia,
Canada and all over the globe are holding events all year in the lead up to this years Holodomor day on November 25.
posted by sien at 4:57 PM PST - 14 comments
"
AngryJournalist.com, an increasingly popular site that consists of nothing but rants from pissed-off reporters, is now the most accurate summation extant of journalism as an industry," (
via Gawker). It's spawned a marvelously less popular HappyJournalist.com, and what appears to be an unrelated copycat called
AngryResident.com, for "for every doctor-in-training tired of suffering in silence."
posted by nospecialfx at 4:39 PM PST - 34 comments
The ever-wonderful Strange Maps blog comes up with the goods again:
Area codes in which Ludacris claims to have 'hoes'. "
I’m a female and a feminist. I dislike the usage of the word ‘ho’. However, as a geography major, I find this song hilarious, and had to map it,” says Stephanie Gray, referring to Area Codes [NSFW] by the rap artist Ludacris... In this song, Ludacris brags about the area codes where he knows women, whom he refers to as ‘hoes’,” says Ms Gray, who plotted out all the area codes mentioned in this song on a map of the United States. She arrived at some interesting conclusions as to the locations of this rapper’s preferred female companionship."posted by patricio at 8:53 AM PST - 83 comments
The Great Falkland Islands Oil Boom The inhabitants of the Falkland Islands are preparing for a South Atlantic oil rush which they hope will make them among the richest people in the world. After 10 years of frustrating delays since oil fields containing up to 60 billion barrels of "black gold" were discovered off the islands, oil companies are planning to start drilling within the next 12 months. It may also go down as the catalyst for the "Second Falklands Island War".
posted by Coop at 8:03 AM PST - 35 comments
March 8
The Hidden Stanley Kubrick. In the nine years following Stanley Kubrick's death on March 7, 1999, several of his collaborators have written and spoken about their experiences working with this notoriously reclusive filmmaker. Their reminiscences shed light on aspects of Kubrick’s family life, private thoughts and work habits, and make for fascinating reading and viewing. Those who've shared their reflections include
Michael Herr (co-screenwriter, "Full Metal Jacket");
Leon Vitali (actor, "Barry Lyndon" and Kubrick's personal assistant for nearly 25 years);
Ian Watson (credited with the "screen story" for "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence"); and
Brian Aldiss (who helped to develop the story for "A.I."). Peter Bogdanovich gathered together the impressions of
others who worked with Kubrick on various projects over the legendary director's career.
[more inside]posted by New Frontier at 11:37 PM PST - 21 comments
Can scientists dance? "No one quite knew what to expect as the lights came up on a pair of astrophysicists dressed as binary galaxies. The rowdy audience of scientists exploded with applause. The world's first Dance Your Ph.D. Contest was off to a good start."
posted by dhruva at 10:59 PM PST - 18 comments
Uncle Dirty is a fascinating photo essay about a photographer's strange uncle who has lived 86 years obsessed with bodybuilding, penises, and thongs. Not safe for work, but not too crazy, the photos really humanize someone you'd probably cross the street to avoid in real life. (via
mjj/
blort)
posted by mathowie at 11:13 AM PST - 130 comments
March 7
Well respected as a player, instructor and scholar, Adam Gussow teaches blues harmonica online at
Modern Blues Harmonica. For a fee.
On YouTube, as
KudzuRunner, he also gives lessons. For free. He's put up around 145 videos now--145 videos with like about a million hits in return...
via Tom Muck's Blogposted by y2karl at 10:29 PM PST - 12 comments
Each of the following
MySpace Music pages features bios and/or photos and/or videos and/or miscellaneous related materials and/or up to six songs by each of the following old school Jamaican
Reggae and/or
dub artists:
Alton Ellis,
Toots and the Maytals,
Jimmy Cliff,
The Wailing Wailers,
Big Youth,
Dennis Brown,
Mikey Dread,
The Meditations,
Leroy Brown,
Mad Professor,
Augustus Pablo,
Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus,
King Tubby,
The Abyssinians,
Everton Blender,
Bunny Wailer,
Prince Alla,
Israel Vibration,
Peter Tosh,
Gregory Isaacs,
Shinehead,
Jah Ruby,
Carlton Livingston,
King Jammy,
Duckie Simpson,
I Threes,
Judy Mowatt,
Sly and Robbie,
Barrington Levi,
Yellowman,
Delroy Williams,
Wailing Souls,
Earl "Chinna" Smith,
Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace,
Burning Spear,
Max Romeo,
Black Uhuru,
Leroy Sibbles,
Ijahman Levi and
Earl Cunningham.
[more inside]posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:10 PM PST - 25 comments
Would you like a latte while I print that up for you?
The
Espresso Book Machine (
previously) that was in the
New York Public Library has just moved to the
Northshire Bookstore in Vermont. The beta versions of this portable book-making machine are pumping out paperbacks around a book a minute at the Open Content Alliance, The Library of Alexandria, The New Orleans Public Library, and the University of Alberta. The mass produced commercial version of the machine is scheduled to roll off the assembly line within the year and will be priced between $50,000 and $20,000. Combined with
one of these, publishing as we know it may never be the same.
[more inside]posted by Toekneesan at 10:16 AM PST - 36 comments
POSSESSED is a short documentary film that 'enters the complicated worlds of four hoarders; people whose lives are dominated by their relationship to possessions'.
posted by jack_mo at 6:22 AM PST - 44 comments
If you who hear a symphony each time you open a beer,
here's a little Friday fun.
(Check out the 'Behind the Scenes' video too.)
NB: Flash and music. posted by essexjan at 1:46 AM PST - 11 comments
March 6
Finally, eliminate the rickroll from your online life. I know, you're hesitant to click on that because you think that in moments, you'll find yourself on a YouTube page seeing Rick Astley doing the white-boy-80s-groove dance. (Have no idea what a rickroll is? First, consider yourself lucky, and then
wiki it, or, more amusingly,
Rocketboom.) But thanks to
Adblock Plus, subscription filters, and collaborative flagging, you can banish Astley back to the '80s where he belongs.
posted by WCityMike at 8:49 PM PST - 66 comments
