April 13, 2007

Scala & Kolacny Brothers

Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgium girls choir ("2 brothers and 40 girls") that covers bands such as The Cure, Radiohead, and U2. Their songs range from hauntingly beautiful ("With or Without You" youtube/streaming/download (26.1MB)) to strange (42MB podcast mp3--"Teenage Dirtbag" cover starts at 17:00)to downright disturbing ("I Touch Myself"). Want more? Smells like Teen Spirit, Friday I'm in Love, Someone New, Dream On, Can't Get You Out of My Head. (See Wiki, myspace.)
posted by null terminated at 9:33 PM PST - 72 comments

You ought to be in pixels

Animated Pixelated Cities: Gaze at the extreme pixelated detail of the neighborhoods of Pixeldam (including a pixel Starbucks with tiny coffees and a pixel strip club) or the science fiction themed PixelMoon, collectively generated by over a hundred contributors. There is also the slightly less impressive PixelPlaza and the oddness of IsoCity and Sumea, as well as the impressive work of eboy [prev]. Ready to try yourself, but don't have the pixel skills? City Creator has you covered.
posted by blahblahblah at 9:14 PM PST - 14 comments

The Kansas City Sheet Music Collection

The Kansas City Sheet Music Collection is an enormous catalog of zoomable, high-rez scans of old sheet music. See how the popular music of years past was marketed with Black and Native American imagery as well as exotica. There are lovely and fanciful calligraphic designs, songs of World War 1 and, uh, vegetables. There's even a little ditty by Mark Twain. Plus some undeniable truths and the age-old question.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:47 PM PST - 8 comments

Best. Horse video. Ever.

Wow. I don't know much about dressage, but this video is just astonishing.
posted by cerebus19 at 7:21 PM PST - 152 comments

Uncle Leo and the Nazis

This Sunday will be Yom HaShoah "Holocaust Martyrs' Remembrance Day" in Israel. A month ago Eric Muller, a law professor at UNC, went to Germany to find what he could about his great uncle Leopold Müller. Today he got something unexpected in the mail. (via)
posted by sotonohito at 6:52 PM PST - 16 comments

It's what's for dinner

Croc Bites Off Hand
posted by Stynxno at 6:10 PM PST - 69 comments

The UW Shooter Filled My iPod

Ghost In The Machine "I have a murderer's music on my iPod and, almost reflexively, I couldn't help but think of him while listening to these songs—they were his songs, songs he gave me. [...] Listening to his music put me inside [his] head. [...] I wanted to throw up." [more inside]
posted by rossination at 5:36 PM PST - 42 comments

Had enough?

Lee Iacocca has a few thoughts on President Bush.
posted by EarBucket at 5:25 PM PST - 54 comments

congress ordered study on abstinence programs backfires

Mathematica Policy Research Inc. released the findings of their study on government funded abstinence programs. The results? Not so great for the abstinence programs, or the federal & state governments which combined spend $80+ million funding the programs. The major findings were that the abstinence programs they studied had no correlation with a decreased level of sexual activity in the population of teens they surveyed. Interestingly, one of the programs they studied was a voluntary after school program consisting of daily 2.5 hour sessions with enrollment beginning at grade 3 and continuing into the 8th grade, and even that program didn't produce a significantly higher number of abstinent teens. The study was ordered by Congress. You can read the full study here (pdf, 164 pages.)
posted by nerdcore at 2:45 PM PST - 61 comments

Unusual IRA investments

Sure, you can make your IRA contribution just before the deadline this year in plain old mutual funds, but did you know it is possible to put retirement money into Costa Rican hardwoods? Or income properties or perhaps even Chinese currency (not much yield there)? You can set up a self-directed IRA, where you choose the investments, which opens up quite a range of possibilities and perils. The dangers are obvious, and be sure watch the fees, though, and, of course, consult with your legal, tax, and financial advisors first.
posted by Adamchik at 1:33 PM PST - 7 comments

I'll take

You want trivia? I got your trivia right here. Previously.
posted by hifiparasol at 1:08 PM PST - 22 comments

The leftovers make syupuurrrb sandwiches!

Cooking with Vincent Price! Delicious mushrooms & stuffed eggs! Roast pork sirloin with prunes, onions & red wine! Small boys in a spectacular curry! Cooking not your thing? Well, would you prefer learning about cricket? Or perhaps Florentine art? Voilà, my friends!
posted by miss lynnster at 1:07 PM PST - 35 comments

2007 Reith Lectures

Over the next four weeks, Jeffrey Sachs will be giving the 2007 BBC Reith Lectures. Download [MP3] the first week's lecture ("Bursting at the Seams"), or subscribe [XML] to the podcast. Listen to the 1999-2006 lectures in full, or hear historic lecturers such as Bertrand Russell and J.K. Galbraith.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 11:51 AM PST - 14 comments

"Fairly fake," faust fasted fawningly, "Fanny."

The World's Greatest Knock-offs! While the world waits for the dinky Smart FourFour to be released in the US, the Chinese have already made a knock-off - for $5,300! More great knock-off cars.
posted by parmanparman at 10:57 AM PST - 46 comments

The Eye of Argon is Watching You Masturbate

"Prepare to embrace your creators in the stygian haunts of hell, barbarian", gasped the first soldier.
"Only after you have kissed the fleeting stead of death, wretch!" returned Grignr.

I cannot believe that I once considered my life complete having never been exposed to SciFi convention mainstay and possibly Worst Science Fiction Story Ever Written, The Eye of Argon. Previously mentioned on Metafilter in comments, it is time for Jim Theis' magnum opus have its day in the Blue. If you can make it through the story without laughing (most can't), there's always the MST3K'd version to attempt as well! (via)
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:25 AM PST - 92 comments

In space, nobody can hear @ scream

Download munkey points out rougelike magazine and AliensRL, nice a roguelike shooter based on the Aliens movies.
posted by boo_radley at 10:17 AM PST - 20 comments

Mario gets sadism

The most sadistic user-created Super Mario Bros level ever. I cried with laughter.
posted by humblepigeon at 10:13 AM PST - 68 comments

Dot Action II

Friday Flash Fun: Dot Action II. The first 30 or so levels are pretty easy, but it does get harder.
posted by seanyboy at 9:46 AM PST - 14 comments

Time in Transit - Commuting

There and Back Again: The Soul of the Commuter How long is your commute? Is it worth the personal and social cost? Nick Paumgarten in this week's New Yorker on the bargains Americans strike between their work lives and home lives.
posted by Miko at 9:45 AM PST - 84 comments

The most relaxing game you will ever play

It's almost better than bubble-wrap. Just touch your expanding dot to make contact with other dots. Clear an entire screen and you'll see Boomshine. Friday flash fun was never so gentle.
posted by squidfartz at 9:26 AM PST - 66 comments

Ruling reptiles taste just like chicken. For a reason.

Put down that McChicken sandwich, punk, and back away slowly. OK, now run! The chicken is T. Rex's closest known living relative.
posted by jfuller at 9:02 AM PST - 29 comments

And she doesn't even get out of her baby chair.

114 seconds.
posted by phaedon at 8:56 AM PST - 31 comments

Interview of Henry Rollins on his USO visits to Iraq in TNR

You'll go by the phone kiosk and you'll hear young men having these very strange, almost surreal arguments or discussions with their wives over something like, "Hey the garage is leaking, how do we fix that?" And what she maybe doesn't understand is, maybe that guy just got ambushed, like half an hour ago, and he's shaking from the adrenaline, and he's just calling her just to hear a familiar voice, and she's like, "We gotta get the sprinklers fixed." And he's like, "Oh, OK ... . I love you." He just wants to get back to the ground. And that's what makes me angry, is what all of this is doing to these very young families. It just makes me mad. It makes anybody mad.
Henry Rollins, interviewed in TNR (reg required, free) on his frequent USO visits to Afghanistan and Iraq.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:38 AM PST - 59 comments

Infectious fun

Destroy the world, one sneeze at a time. Friday flash fun.
posted by Malor at 7:46 AM PST - 27 comments

Trail Trees

Say you live in a forest and have limited resources. You need to make signposts to point out trails, water sources, meeting places and the like, but your readers might speak a variety of languages. Also, you want the signposts to last a really long time. What do you do? Create trail trees! Now say you live in the 21st century. What do you do? Create a database! And blog about it!
posted by DU at 7:46 AM PST - 20 comments

Hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?

Who wrote the song Hey Joe? Jimi Hendrix recorded the most famous version, but Hey Joe has been recorded by a bunch of artists including Love, The Leaves, The Byrds, The Music Machine, and Eddie Murphy(??!). The author of the song themed with infidelity, murder, and ultimately running from the law, is under dispute, which is well documented on Wikipedia. An mp3 blog called Used Bin Forever features a post about this subject including a mp3 of a mindblowing version by the 60's Japanese band, The Golden Cups.
posted by byronimation at 6:53 AM PST - 27 comments

I've got a special treat. It's not Fruit Roll-Ups.

Mother fucking bird flu! Asher Sarlin just made me laugh so hard, I think a little bit of poop came out. Be sure to check out Social Studies Fighter II Turbo, nobody needs a venti and what the world would look like if orange juice didn't taste terrible right after you brushed your teeth.
posted by jbickers at 6:48 AM PST - 58 comments

The superstitious man is to the rogue what the slave is to the tyrant

Today seems like a splendid day to talk about superstitions. Not that long ago, there was an Anti-Superstition Society, whose thirteen members once presented a gift to the occupant of the thirteenthth capsule in space. Now defunct, others have taken on the challenge of debunking superstitions. Can't make the next anti-superstition party? Have your own superstition bash.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 6:00 AM PST - 8 comments

Billy Collins: action poet

Billy Collins: action poet. Animated quicktime video poem readings.
posted by srboisvert at 5:47 AM PST - 21 comments

Old school gaming classic Defender of the Crown can be played for free

Defender of the Crown can be played on the website of the game's original designers. You are a noble who must unite England by jousting, warring and rescuing pretty maidens. The king has been murdered, the crown has been stolen and as your bestest pal Robin Hood says, "only you can save England."
posted by Kattullus at 5:07 AM PST - 37 comments

Still Missing : Alan Johnston

Alan Johnston,the only western journalist (BBC) in Gaza is still missing. Despite calls from various quarters , local protests , a first ever meeting between the UK gov and Hamas, and unprecedentated 'global media' co-operation. He seems as far from his family as ever.
posted by burr1545 at 4:19 AM PST - 12 comments

Bringing corruption and favoritism to the World (Bank)

Paul Wolfowitz faces calls to resign after admitting he helped his SO win a promotion to a high-paying job at the World Bank. The executive board of the World Bank has said it did not approve a hefty pay rise ordered by its president Paul Wolfowitz for his partner, Shaha Riza. This comes after a 2006 pledge to target corruption and stating that staff members should be praised when they raised concerns about corruption in projects. Seems as though this new tactic is starting to work. For those with short memories, prior to being picked by the President head up the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz studied under neo-con grandfather Leo Strauss while a grad student at the University of Chicago, was a founding member of the PNAC, and an architect of the Bush Doctrine, and by extension, the Iraq War.
posted by psmealey at 3:51 AM PST - 85 comments

Roscoe Lee Browne. RIP, Mr. Nightlinger.

Roscoe Lee Browne, class act from beginning to end. The first time I ever noticed him was in The Cowboys, a western I've watched many times just to hear him speak.
posted by loosemouth at 3:34 AM PST - 18 comments

I am Tetsuo

Akira2019: a fan-site devoted to the classic Japanese manga and anime, offering up production cels, background info on the ground-breaking digital coloring technique used in the Epic translation, images, and film music.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:49 AM PST - 26 comments

IS THERE NONE WHO CAN CHALLENGE ME?

I hereby declare myself king of Monkey Kick-Off. With a score of 4750 Monkey Meters, I feel secure & confident that my reign will be a long & prosperous one.
posted by jonson at 1:40 AM PST - 49 comments

In a city renowned for phoney affection and rabid ambition, he exudes only diffidence, humour and generosity.

"If you had Bruce playing with you," Dylan wrote, in his 2004 autobiography, Chronicles, "that's all you would need to do just about anything."
Bruce Langhorne has quite the discography. And a hot sauce, to boot. And he's led quite the life. Here is Richie Unterberger's interview with Langhorne in Parts One and Two. And here he talks with Unterberger about working with Mimi and Richard Fariña.

On a personal note, I will add that his hot sauce is hot indeed. Will buy it again.
posted by y2karl at 12:31 AM PST - 6 comments

Less Talk, More Donkey!

Nice Ass! Jon Katz describes why he owns and loves his donkeys. Follow-up: what happened when Lulu fell during an ice storm.
posted by homunculus at 12:13 AM PST - 20 comments

TV in Japan

TV in Japan. A hyper representation of what airs, or has aired on Japanese TV. Ranging from action packed to truly awesome (and from monkeys to ninjas), set your eyes to "dazzled" and brain to "frazzled".
posted by myopicman at 12:12 AM PST - 7 comments

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