March 26, 2006

Who gets married these days?

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

One Honest Wo(Man)

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

New York Times to release Bush/Blair memo.

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 - 82 comments

"When you come up and tell people there are elephants down there they really think you've gone crazy"

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 their connected ecosystems may be in danger if the rapid and largely unchecked development of the Maya Riviera continues.
posted by Stauf at 10:44 PM PST - 16 comments

Reilly Stroope

Illustrations by Reilly Stroope. (Flash interface.)
posted by Gator at 10:06 PM PST - 11 comments

Desmond Doss

Desmond Doss dies at 87. Desmond Doss, first conscientious objector to win a Medal of Honor, was a Seventh Day Adventist who refused to carry a gun, eat meat, or work on Saturday. Under heavy Japanese fire, he lowered 75 wounded men to safety from the top of the Maeda Escarpment on Okinawa. That was only one of his acts of heroism.
posted by forrest at 9:07 PM PST - 17 comments

The omega strain

Bacon as health food. Scientists have added a gene to a cloned pig that converts omega-6 fat to to the more healthy (and trendy) omega-3. Link to full Nature Biotechnology article (may need subscription).
posted by 445supermag at 8:55 PM PST - 12 comments

Hapland 3

Hapland 3 (flash puzzle) - Here we go again.. Good luck! (Hapland, Hapland 2)
posted by hypersloth at 6:20 PM PST - 12 comments

Surreal

The truth is what you believe [flash game] I'm stuck with a matchstick with a number on top [found in the fabulous Surreal & Visionary Artists of the 21st Century].
posted by tellurian at 5:40 PM PST - 15 comments

By George! and other puns

March Madness: 11th seeded George Mason upset UConn in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament this afternoon, continuing their unexpected streak of upsets. Their wins validate not only their inclusion in the tournament, but the rising status of mid-major conferences. The most prominent critic of the inclusion of these smaller schools has been CBS analyst Billy Packer, who verbally assaulted the head of the selection committee on live TV just two weeks ago, and has yet to apologize for his obvious error.
posted by kyleg at 4:28 PM PST - 49 comments

Warner Music buys Rykodisc

Warner Music set to buy Rykodisc. Although Rykodisc has already lost its independence, its apparent corporate resting place is bad news to fans of Ryko's many remarkable but commercially underperforming artists, and particularly to the legion and devoted fans of Frank Zappa [flash, audio], whose conflicts with and hatred for WB are well documented. Prove me wrong, Warner Bros. For the love of that which is best (music), prove me wrong.

CAVEAT It would be dishonest of me to post at WB's expense without publicly giving them credit for letting Mr Bungle do whatever they wanted.
posted by Eothele at 4:12 PM PST - 10 comments

April 10 is Dirty Diaper day

In the great olfactory tradition of stinky protests caregivers across America are text mobilizing themselves into action: "APRIL 10 IS DIRTY DIAPER DAY. ALL POLISH, RUSSIAN, FILIPONO (sic) AND OTHER CAREGIVERS IN THE U.S. ARE URGED TO TAKE A DAY OFF IN SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRATION REFORMS. REMEMBER TAKE A DAY OFF ON APRIL 10, DIRTY DIAPER DAY. YOUR FUTURE "DEPENDS" ON IT! (Entry #27 here). Yes, they are incensed!
posted by azul at 1:20 PM PST - 70 comments

The History of Almost Everything

"The Movie Timeline is the history of everything, taken from one simple premise - that everything you see in the movies is true..." For example, "November 6, 2012: The United States elects a female president (Back To The Future Part II)" [via]
posted by feelinglistless at 1:19 PM PST - 18 comments

the last flight

Death of a birdman: the first man to fly in a hang glider over Everest, Siberia and Sahara, breaking altitude records, flying with eagles, cranes and condors born in captivity (Flash video), he lost his life today in a plane crash. Angelo D'Arrigo, 1961-2006.
posted by funambulist at 12:21 PM PST - 12 comments

Researchers peg Putin as a plagiarist over thesis

Vladimir Putin can add a new line to his resume: plagiarist.
posted by rxrfrx at 12:12 PM PST - 14 comments

Someone at google finance made a funny.

The pope of the government. Hatred. Dou**e bag. Sneakers.
posted by docgonzo at 11:55 AM PST - 36 comments

Cornish Bush π

That Kate Bush song where she sings 150 digits of π and gets it wrong [possibly]? Turns out it contains secret references to, among other things, some stones in Cornwall that look sort of like a steam locomotive and a number of megalithic sites. No, seriously. He's got proof.
posted by gleuschk at 11:37 AM PST - 26 comments

Pretty cities.

The 15 Best Skylines.
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:36 AM PST - 70 comments

Dawkin's The Selfish Gene, 30yrs On...

The night's event featured speakers Daniel C. Dennett, Matt Ridley, Sir John Krebs, Ian McEwan, and -- the man himself -- Richard Dawkins. It was, as you might suspect (based on the title), an event celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Dawkins' seminal work. If you didn't get a chance to attend, you can still read the full transcript or stream/download the audio of it in MP3 format (many thanks to Helena Cronin, founder/director of Darwin@LSE, for hosting the file). Thanks to 3QD for the link.
posted by Moody834 at 10:39 AM PST - 20 comments

I told you I was hardcore

Dead ravers littered the floor. A gunman/rave kid walked into the Capitol Hill house Saturday morning during an after party for the 'Better Off Undead' rave. With a pistol grip shotgun he killed 7 men, two women, and then himself.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 9:20 AM PST - 212 comments

Small screen vs. big screen

It's still about the means of production, you see — but in the overdeveloped world, at least, it's not about the production of goods and services anymore. Today's virtual revolutionary is happy to leave all that to capitalists. The virtual revolutionary wants to control the production of meaning — representations of herself and her world as she wants them to seem. Or be. Or whatever. That's all she asks.
Or, rather, takes.
Thomas de Zengotita welcomes the big world of the small screen. Peter Bogdanovich, instead, still mourns that last picture show.
posted by matteo at 8:17 AM PST - 22 comments

The human cost of the Iraq "war"

This heart-wrenching 4 part story of the lives of some of the severely wounded US soldiers brought tears to my eyes - the descriptions of what these kids are enduring, the difficulties faced by their families, the courage they display under circumstances that would reduce most of us to useless blobs. These are the true costs of an illegal, immoral war. Truly tragic in scope.
posted by dbiedny at 7:22 AM PST - 44 comments

Korat Bar girls

Korat bar girls. R and R from the Indochina war.
posted by the cuban at 2:55 AM PST - 43 comments

I Got Your 'One Giant Leap' Right Here

"It was the quickest way down." On August 16, 1960, Joe Kittinger jumped from a helium balloon at 102,800 feet, over 19 miles up. After free-falling for four and a half minutes and reaching 614 MPH, almost breaking the sound barrier, he opened his parachute at 18,000 feet and landed safe and sound after an almost 14 minute descent. He set records for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest freefall and fastest speed by a man through the atmosphere. [more inside]
"I didn't hear a sonic boom; I didn't even hear any whooshing or whistling of the wind. But when I flipped over and looked back at my balloon, it sure was an eerie sight--the sky was black as night but I was bathed in sunshine."
posted by kirkaracha at 1:02 AM PST - 48 comments

But he didn't look a day over 30

Addwaita is no longer. He has ceased to be. What we have here is a dead 255 year old Aldabra tortoise.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies at 12:15 AM PST - 26 comments

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