January 1, 2010

Detroit 2009, The Movie

There isn't a single decent candidate running for office, the homeless guy struck by a car was more fortunate than the auto workers and if you want a grilled raccoon they sure have a deal for you: it's Detroit 2009, The Movie, the chronicle of a rough year from The Detroit News.
posted by krautland at 9:50 PM PST - 40 comments

David Levine, R.I.P.

David Levine, beloved caricaturist for several publications, but most notably for the New York Review of Books, died last Tuesday at age 83 due to complications of prostate cancer. Since 1963, he contributed over 3,800 caricatures for the magazine, which prominently featured his drawings in promotional material. You can look at over 2,500 of his drawings here, review his website featuring his painting here, and see him interviewed here. Toward the end of his life, his vision failed due to macular degeneration and his relationship with the magazine became somewhat strained. Upon his death, the magazine noted that he was, simply, "the greatest caricaturist of his time." [more inside]
posted by pasici at 9:08 PM PST - 24 comments

It's what's for dinner

Ammonia-injected centerfuged fatty trimmings = pink slime + E. Coli. Eight years ago, federal officials were struggling to remove potentially deadly E. coli from hamburgers when an entrepreneurial company from South Dakota came up with a novel idea: injecting beef with ammonia.
posted by cytherea at 9:01 PM PST - 90 comments

Everything is fake.

Stargate Studios opened in 1989, and has been doing visual effects for some the most successful tv shows of the past few years such as Heroes, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy and 24. Green screens allow them to artificially blend and create scenes that you wouldn't expect. Their official website has more on their Virtual Backlot and other Tech Demos.
posted by OrangeSoda at 8:50 PM PST - 26 comments

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. Mark3:29 God in hell I never thought I would ever use a bible reference!

Blasphmey! It's vogue, ancient and modern. Just don't paint yourself into a box you can't shoot out of.
posted by Balisong at 7:31 PM PST - 32 comments

A House Divided Against Itself

Planned demolition in Liuzhou goes dangerously wrong.
posted by hermitosis at 6:08 PM PST - 28 comments

The new Islamic revolution

Six days ago, Seyed Ali Mousavi, nephew of Iranian opposition leader and figurehead of the Green Movement Mir Hossein Mousavi [wikipedia | facebook] was shot dead during the latest round of protests in Tehran; Seyed Ali had apparently been threatened by the police, and had recently lost his position at the Iran Academy of Arts and Sciences. After burying his nephew amidst government-sponsored protests on Wednesday, Mir Hossein Mousavi showed renewed resolve in a statement on his website which read in part: "I’m not afraid to be one of the people’s martyrs in their struggle for their just demands... My blood is no redder than theirs," and quoted the words of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the republic: "Kill us; we will only become stronger." [New York Times | Times Onlines (UK) | Al-Jazeera | Payvan Iran | Iran Focus News | Reuters | BBC] [more inside]
posted by koeselitz at 4:28 PM PST - 77 comments

The Irony of Loneliness

The Economist reports on a study published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (abstract) about how loneliness moves through a community. [more inside]
posted by djfiander at 2:25 PM PST - 30 comments

"Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them."

Darth Vader and an entourage of Storm Troopers rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on December 22nd. [more inside]
posted by zarq at 1:07 PM PST - 43 comments

Namahage (生剥)

Namahage (生剥) is a Japanese ritual which is observed throughout Oga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture in northern Honshū, Japan. It is saidto have originated as a ritual for cleansing people's souls, and for blessing the new year. [more inside]
posted by KokuRyu at 9:44 AM PST - 36 comments

Existance is futile

Let's start the year off right with The Most Useless Machine Ever!. AKA The BEST Machine Ever! via [more inside]
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 8:41 AM PST - 49 comments

Killer bisexuals, pregnant lesbians, predatory gay men.

On Writing Gay Characters : Megan Rose Gedris.at Squidoo talks about common mistakes and preceptions to avoid when writing LGBT characters.
posted by The Whelk at 8:36 AM PST - 131 comments

Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle

The largest Herbarium in the world.
posted by hadjiboy at 8:34 AM PST - 5 comments

Human Relations in the new millenium

If you're going to kill off an entire section of a newspaper and fire all of the staffers who work there, it's probably a good idea to get the Twitter password first. [more inside]
posted by minimii at 8:20 AM PST - 25 comments

"White Death moving down the mountainside"

"It... picked up cars and equipment as though they were so many snow-draped toys, and swallowing them up, disappeared like a white, broad monster into the ravine below." Nearly 100 years ago, on March 1, 1910, the deadliest avalanche in United States history struck the small town of Wellington, Washington. Ninety-six people died as a massive wall of snow struck two Great Northern trains stopped at Wellington to wait for the tracks to be cleared, rolling them nearly 1000 feet into Tye Creek and burying the victims under huge piles of snow, trees, and debris. [more inside]
posted by litlnemo at 6:36 AM PST - 13 comments

Heloise on the high seas

Offshore drilling/container ship catering crews know some really cool kitchen tricks. (equipment cleaning/maintenance/repair tips, not cooking tips.) [more inside]
posted by magdalenstreetladies at 6:02 AM PST - 37 comments

In words of one syl-la-ble

Time was, folks wrote books with just small words, for kids, or for folks who could not read well. [more inside]
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:25 AM PST - 22 comments

Selling placebos

Placebo pills for sale. You've seen some of the many spoofs, and they've been discussed before, but now you can pay real money for real pills. So multi-powerful, they're the go-to pill of choice when conducting double blind studies for medicines treating every disease and disorder. It's SCIENCE!
posted by birdsquared at 1:16 AM PST - 40 comments

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