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R.I.P. Fred Korematsu Fred Korematsu, who unsuccessfully fought Japanese American internment camps during World War II before finally winning in court nearly four decades later, has died. He was 86. Seattle Times...New York Times (reg. req'd)
posted by gleenyc at 8:09 PM PST - 27 comments

Mathematics Awareness Month - April 2005: Essays, DVD, Links. Prior MAMs.
posted by Gyan at 7:11 PM PST - 7 comments

112 Popes Saint Malachy's "Prophecy of the Popes" holds that we only get 112 Popes before everything goes all "revert to saved", and John Paul the Second is #110. Although it's now thought to be a Jesuitical forgery (circa 1600), given the speed with which Popes can switch, it might not be long before we find out.
posted by paul_smatatoes at 2:24 PM PST - 48 comments

Air Force Wind Ensemble Music About 70 pieces are here, almost all in MP3, recorded by Air Force bands. If you played concert band or wind ensemble in high school, some of these will really take you back:

• Lincolnshire Posey, Grainger
• First Suite in Eb for Military Band, Holst
• The Planets, Holst
• George Washington Bridge, Schuman

There are links to other genres performed by the bands: Country, Dixieland, Jazz, March, Patriotic, Pop, and Winter Holidays. The list isn't exhaustive (no Thunderer?) but there are some gems that are not easy to find recordings of.
posted by kurumi at 2:21 PM PST - 15 comments

Comic book motivational posters. [via the website at the end of the universe]
posted by arto at 1:40 PM PST - 14 comments

The Mary Evans Picture Library 'is a family business, which started in 1964. Hilary and Mary Evans began collecting historical material, in the form of books, loose prints and ephemera, in the 1950s and through various media contacts they turned their hobby into a thriving business.' (free reg req) If you open just about any non-fiction book from the past 50 or so years, you are sure to see Mary Evans' name beside many unusual and important pictures. And for April Fool's. Its all rather extraordinary. (Note: This is my 1st FPP. Thanks guys!!)
posted by shipbreaker at 1:23 PM PST - 4 comments

March To End "Beg The Question" Abuse! For too long this logical fallacy has been misused! Today we take the matter in to our own hands, and march on Washington to demand legislation to preserve the sanctity of language!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 11:31 AM PST - 66 comments

Blogger goes to a nyc chinatown fish market, buys a fish, and then sets the twenty pounder free. A photo essay. but the question is, will it live?
posted by tsarfan at 11:30 AM PST - 63 comments

"Rats that survive to the age of four are the wisest and the most cynical beasts on earth. A trap means nothing to them, no matter how skillfully set. They just kick it around until it snaps; then they eat the bait. And they can detect poisoned bait a yard off. I believe some of them can read." Also, they're athletes
posted by Shanachie at 11:11 AM PST - 58 comments

The rights to Pokey the Penguin(archive)-the entire body of work, characters, likenesses, etc.- are for sale on eBay. Is this the end of an infrequently updated and incoherent era that spanned nearly seven years?
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 10:48 AM PST - 21 comments

Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin stripped of title for standing up. Candidates for the crown have to "mostly be seen in the public using their wheelchairs or scooters," said Judy Hoit, Ms. Wheelchair America's treasurer. "Otherwise you've got women who are in their wheelchairs all the time and they get offended if they see someone standing up. We can't have title holders out there walking when they're seen in the public." Reminds me of the joke of the kid who won the "Most Humble" award at his school, was given a badge, and then had it taken away from him when he put it on.
posted by billysumday at 10:15 AM PST - 25 comments

Farewell, jet generation. "This is never easy. Please excuse me if I start making no sense. Hideaki Sekiguchi, AKA Billy, has left this world this morning, due to a heart attack at the age of 38. Billy was a brother, one of the wolf pack. He rocked harder than anybody in the room...." --Seiji, Guitar Wolf. Fans from all over the world respond. Oh, Bass Wolf, you will be in my heart forever.
posted by jennanemone at 9:48 AM PST - 32 comments

Alan Dundes dies while teaching. The world-renowned folklorist, 70, tackled everything from religion to political jokes with an infectious enthusiam that endeared him to students, academics, and laymen alike. Dundes was often contacted by reporters looking for scholarly explanations of popular culture. His warmth and humor shined through in his speech to UC Berkeley's Class of 2002, characteristically full of wise words and wisecracks. Those wishing to share thoughts and memories of Prof. Dundes can do so at this forum.
posted by Aster at 9:17 AM PST - 14 comments

The Amazing Mr. Bickford. Most Zappa fans know of Bruce Bickford for his claymation work in Baby Snakes and other Zappa movies. Recently a documentary was made of him and now he has his own web site which features a small sampling of his story board work. For some other claymation samples (not by Bruce Bickford), try here.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:16 AM PST - 10 comments

Strictly speaking, yourassgotserved.com should really be yourassisserving.com, but, well, you get the idea. (Flash, NSFW, preparing for my first deleted FPP)
posted by Armitage Shanks at 9:14 AM PST - 16 comments

Ipso Floral is some Friday Flash Fun (SFW). Probably the most amazing, hypnotic, computer generated animation I've ever seen. It's the best thing since Electric Sheep.
posted by mosch at 8:45 AM PST - 29 comments

Pope John Paul II has had a heart attack. Soon, the College of Cardinals will assemble to choose his successor. Even in death, however, this pontiff will exert extraordinary control over the process, having elevated an unprecedented number of clerics to this body.

The choice of Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana, would continue John Paul II's legacy of opposition to communism and totalitarianism. Another frontrunner is the socially conservative Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze. Arinze would continue John Paul II's cultural legacy while recognizing the demographic reality of modern global Catholicism. Also mentioned as a frontrunner is Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, a strong proponent of third world debt relief. Progressives would welcome the elevation of German Cardinal Walter Kasper, an advocate for religious tolerance and pluralism, or the moderate Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, a frequent stand-in during the Holy Week ceremonies. Conservatives favor Columbian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos. Hoyos shares the Pope's traditionalist vision of a church at odds with modernity. But the smart money, is on Dionigi Tettamanzi.
posted by felix betachat at 8:44 AM PST - 228 comments

Jonathan Swift and April Fool's. In March of 1708 Swift published a pamphlet (under the name Isaac Bickerstaff) predicting the death of a popular astrological charlatan (John Partridge) who had predicted the demise of the COE. On March 29th, Swift published an account of the fulfillment of the prophecy and of the man's death, convincing people, despite Partridge's protestations, that the man claiming to be Partridge was an imposter. The Bickerstaff-Partridge Papers.
Ben Franklin used a similar prank when he started Poor Richard's.
HP Lovecraft used the name Isaac Bikerstaff Jr., in 1914, when attacking "a quack named Hartmann, a devotee of the pseudo-science of Astrology."
posted by OmieWise at 8:37 AM PST - 7 comments

Who ate termites first?
Ancient rat-like, mammals.
posted by dfowler at 8:17 AM PST - 7 comments

The Formosan Fat Tire Association allows us to see a side of Taiwan that often can't be seen from the roads.
posted by breezeway at 8:10 AM PST - 10 comments

The Underground History of American Education
You aren't compelled to loan your car to anyone who wants it, but you are compelled to surrender your school-age child to strangers who process children for a livelihood.... If I demanded you give up your television to an anonymous, itinerant repairman who needed work you'd think I was crazy; if I came with a policeman who forced you to pay that repairman even after he broke your set, you would be outraged. Why are you so docile when you give up your child to a government agent called a schoolteacher?
posted by anastasiav at 7:10 AM PST - 95 comments

Is this important? Take a narrated pop tour through an exhibit of Bill Barminski's art. More Barminski. (via riley dog)
posted by madamjujujive at 6:43 AM PST - 4 comments

Pool checkers, an ancient game and staple of black culture, is dying.
posted by xowie at 6:40 AM PST - 4 comments

Economics and Race: "Twenty-seven-year-old Harvard economist Roland Fryer grew up poor and black, in a family that was falling apart. His mother abandoned him. His father drank heavily and beat him. Fryer sold drugs and carried a gun. Then, at age 15, after he got pulled over by the police and then let go, he decided he wanted something different."
posted by yoga at 6:11 AM PST - 8 comments

WMU to Buchanan: Come to K-zoo, get dressed! Pat Buchanan gets hosed with Caesar dressing. Beautiful, beautiful video here.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 5:29 AM PST - 92 comments

McDonald's has apparently offered to pay rappers for promoting its food, specifically the Big Mac. The rap world has responded.
posted by monaco at 4:50 AM PST - 18 comments

BoringBoring a directory of dull things. [not via BoingBoing]
posted by dabitch at 3:12 AM PST - 38 comments

Toshiba develops rechargeable battery that can charge in one minute. The battery can achieve 80 percent nominal charge 60 times faster than conventional Lithium Ion batteries, and only loses 1 percent of its life cycle every 1,000 charges. In comparison to any other type of battery in existence, that is amazing.
posted by Dean Keaton at 12:11 AM PST - 38 comments