The day in posts: 04/16/2010

Roman ingots to shield particle detector. "Around four tonnes of ancient Roman lead was yesterday transferred from a museum on the Italian island of Sardinia to the country's national particle physics laboratory at Gran Sasso on the mainland. Once destined to become water pipes, coins or ammunition for Roman soldiers' slingshots, the metal will instead form part of a cutting-edge experiment to nail down the mass of neutrinos." [Via]
posted by homunculus at 11:15 PM PST - 22 comments

Movie critic Roger Ebert has previously said that he doesn't think video games can be art, an opinion at odds with the gaming community. In a recent blog post, Ebert clarifies his position. [more inside]
posted by hellojed at 11:03 PM PST - 215 comments

Gil Scott-Heron, Godfather of Rap. Parts 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 and 6.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:59 PM PST - 19 comments

Albert Einstein died 55 years ago, on April 18, 1955, of heart failure at the age of 76. His funeral and cremation were intensely private affairs. Only one person, LIFE photographer Ralph Morse, managed to capture the events of the day Einstein died.
posted by Effigy2000 at 9:57 PM PST - 17 comments

We've had a post on bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding previously, but perhaps we could do with an update. Last year she played at the White House for Stevie Wonder's Gershwin Prize concert and again for the Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word (previously). In December she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, and, according to wikipedia, her February 6 performance on Austin Cty Limits (PBS [US only?], with Madeleine Peyroux) made her the most-searched person, and the second-most-searched item on Google the next day. [more inside]
posted by Someday Bum at 8:32 PM PST - 7 comments

K.D. Lang singing Halleujah Leonard Cohen's Halleujah may be one of the most powerful songs I heard in the past few years. This version by K.D. Lang was a pleasant surprise...
posted by HuronBob at 8:21 PM PST - 95 comments

Rhett and Link love local commercials, and, with a sponsorship by MicroBilt, they want to visit your town to make one! Don't worry [NSFW], they've had experience doing this kind of thing in the past. • Rhett and Link's website and YouTube channel are chock full of fun stuff besides commercials--why, they even helped me learn all about regional variations of southern BBQ! • [ many previous appearances ]
posted by not_on_display at 7:07 PM PST - 6 comments

Every Painting in the MoMA on 10 April 2010 (SLYT)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:24 PM PST - 19 comments

StarCraft II (previously) has yet to be released, but that hasn't stopped the open beta in Korea from being played so extensively that standout players and strategies are becoming clear well in advance of the limited US beta. Moreover, tournaments are taking place and, while probably inaccessible to those unfamiliar with StarCraft, many matches are available to watch in very high definition on YouTube, complete with surprisingly professional and insightful commentary by SC veterans.

Despite not being a major SC fan, I found myself embarrassingly absorbed by a monster 47-minute Terran vs. Protoss battle, TheLittleOne vs. LiquidNazgul: parts one, two, three, four. It's an excellent crash course in SC2 culture and terminology as well as a fun watch and great match. There are many more.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 6:21 PM PST - 94 comments

The Johnny Cash Project : animating the music video for Ain't No Grave with frame-by-frame contributions from visitors. Draw your own too.
posted by divabat at 6:15 PM PST - 10 comments

Noah Kirkman was stopped by the police while riding a bicycle without his helmet... He then spent the next two years trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare... trying to go home. The Kirkman family has been locked in Kafkaesque bureaucratic limbo since a misunderstanding ruined an idyllic summer vacation in small-town Oregon in 2008. [more inside]
posted by infinite intimation at 5:23 PM PST - 23 comments

Winiwarter's laws of genesis [more inside]
posted by cytherea at 4:53 PM PST - 37 comments

Sonic the Hedgehog, mmmmm yeah baby. A walk through for Sonic 1 with one smooth mutha
posted by dead cousin ted at 4:07 PM PST - 26 comments

After more than 160 years of treating patients, historic St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City's Greenwich Village filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday and will close its doors to new patients. The last remaining Catholic Hospital in NYC, St. Vincent's was originally founded in 1849 to serve the poor. The effect is already being felt at other hospitals in the area. But despite the filing, there was still time for one last cry: Abigail Jancu was the the last baby ever born in St. Vincent's maternity ward.
posted by zarq at 3:27 PM PST - 21 comments

Weighing 607 pounds, Bruce Snowdon was a sideshow fat man from 1977 to 2003, billed as "Harold Huge". His death on Nov. 9, 2009, at the age of 63 marks the end of a long tradition dating back centuries. [more inside]
posted by gman at 2:13 PM PST - 40 comments

Sports fans in Philadelphia have a bad reputation. They booed when their long-time star quarterback Donovan McNabb was drafted. (Something he took personally for years.) They booed and threw snow balls at Santa Claus. They booed when Michael Irvin lay motionless on the field with a neck injury that would end his career. They fought so much at football games that, for a time, their stadium had its own criminal court. Adding to this glorious legacy, at last night's Phillies game, a man allegedly stuck his own fingers down his throat and intentionally projectile vomited on a father and his two daughters who were cheering for the Washington Nationals.
posted by Damn That Television at 2:08 PM PST - 130 comments

Hanafuda (Koi Koi) is a flash game that plays with the hanafuda deck of cards. (As a trivia side note, hanafuda cards were the beginning of Nintendo.) Once you're familiar with the deck, you can play Minhato, a java game that uses the same cards. [more inside]
posted by klangklangston at 12:39 PM PST - 20 comments

Morally reprehensible, conflicted, Kick-ass the movie opens today. [more inside]
posted by bonehead at 12:31 PM PST - 379 comments

BART Police stripped of Tasers. After a sergeant attempted to taser a 13 year old boy, fleeing on bicycle, BART has decided to remove Tasers from the BART Police force. “What are you going to do about Tasers? What are you going to do with officer who does something silly like shoot their Taser out of a window at the victim?” asked Sweet. “BART does not have enough insurance to pay for some of the things we do.” Previously.
posted by yeloson at 12:22 PM PST - 63 comments

It suddenly dashed towards me and rips my shiny new camera from out of my hands, then swims off. Single link YouTube of an Octopus's directorial debut.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 11:27 AM PST - 66 comments

Yesterday, the leaders of the three largest political parties in the UK engaged in a live televised election debate for the first time in history. Most commentators seem to agree that Nick Clegg, the leader of Britain's perennial third party the Liberal Democrats, made the best impression in yesterday's first of three weekly debates leading up to the general election on May 6. The progressive-leaning Guardian even goes so far as to claim that he is now prime ministerial material.

This being Metafilter you will undoubtedly ask, "how does Cory Doctorow figure into all of this?" Well, he agrees with Nick on the Digital Economy Act. Then again, Nick is agreed with quite a lot.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 11:05 AM PST - 54 comments

"If you like orchestral music and have a heart in your fucking chest, you will like this record." Mike Patton, former front man of Faith No More, frequent John Zorn collaborator, founding member of Mr. Bungle, is releasing an album covering old Italian pop songs in May, called Mondo Cane. A live performance can be streamed from Youtube. [more inside]
posted by Rory Marinich at 10:38 AM PST - 42 comments

Ultra Monster art by Takayoshi Mizuki: Japanese monster-kaiju art from the 70s. Warnring: Contains Dino-Tank
posted by The Whelk at 9:28 AM PST - 31 comments

How To Look Punk [PDF]. Lots of good fashion tips from 1977. Don't forget your punk alias. [via]
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 9:24 AM PST - 44 comments

Nobody is saying anyone is ripping anybody off. They are just SIMILAR is all. [more inside]
posted by WPW at 9:07 AM PST - 48 comments

Alex Masket is an autistic young man and prolific artist using Duct Tape, Stick-On Letters, and Legos, among many materials. His work has a suprising vibrance and rhythm. Inspiring, especially for fans of Duct Tape and Outsider Art. Listen to an interview with his parents here. (Hat Tip to the latest Utne Reader)
posted by cross_impact at 9:06 AM PST - 8 comments

"This is a story about a different thing. Something I call Man to Man (M2M)" This blog entry describes the events of a clay pigeon shooting outing as experienced by young woman of color. She muses about whether she should have removed her invisibility cloak and called out the M2M business at play.
posted by la_scribbler at 8:57 AM PST - 127 comments

SEC sues Goldman Sachs for fraud. GS has already come under fire for "betting against" financial products it was marketing, a practice that apparently helped it prosper from the real estate bubble but come out relatively unscathed. The SEC now says that one such product was designed specifically so that a Goldman business partner, Paulson & Company, could take a short position on it. Investors were apparently not advised of this fact. Goldman's stock was off more than 10% in the half hour following the announcement. [more inside]
posted by grobstein at 8:50 AM PST - 48 comments

Something you might want to see before summer concert season starts. People Dancing at Concerts. Drink responsibly, the internet is watching.
posted by donajo at 8:44 AM PST - 41 comments

"In Magnasanti the most advanced construction techniques were employed to achieve a near optimum population density configuration." Remarkable video of Sim City 3000, beaten.
posted by jbickers at 8:01 AM PST - 83 comments

Video of University of Maryland student John McKenna being punched, kicked, and beaten with clubs by Prince George's County police. McKenna was charged with disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer; the police report claims that he had punched the officers and their horses, and that his injuries were due to being kicked by the horses. The video shows otherwise.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:37 AM PST - 121 comments

Passive Aggressive Library Signs Everyone loves librarians, don't they? In honor of National Library Week, here's a collection of threatening library signs. Librarians can be VICIOUS. Some librarians hate those signs more than you'd think: Ten Signs I Hope I Never See in Libraries Again. And just in case you missed them, Five Technically Legal Signs for Your Library if you worry about PATRIOT related issues.
posted by Blake at 4:53 AM PST - 111 comments

Cat Roulette Single Link, Multi-Youtube. No requirement to be a cat yourself, or to own a cat.
posted by dinty_moore at 4:52 AM PST - 11 comments

London hosts "Last Night of Mephedrone" party [FB link] Today a UK-wide ban on the drug Mephedrone, otherwise known as Meow Meow, becomes law, meaning a potential five year prison term for those caught possessing the substance. But several police forces are saying that they will operate a week-long amnesty while others are saying they will target dealers rather than seeking out users. London's biggest meph-heads are gathering tomorrow night to use up their stash in one final blowout, and according to them a "Central London club has offered us their venue for free and is even supplying Philip Starck brushed aluminium tables and Tiffany silver keyfobs from which to do our bumps of Meph". Apparently "one of the biggest DJs on the M-CAT scene is doing a set of specially sped-up meph sounds for at least 16 hours" and they're inviting requests - from "Love Cats" to "Stray Cat Strut".
posted by skylar at 4:45 AM PST - 66 comments

Born 88 years ago in a bear cave in Eastern Oregon, Virginia Beavert now teaches a language with no textbooks, no study abroad programs, and no dubbed TV shows. The only surviving elder of the Yakama who knows the sacred songs and parables of the "Dreamer Religion", Waashat, Beavert researches and teaches Sahaptin (Ichiskíin Sínwit). [more inside]
posted by fraula at 3:51 AM PST - 12 comments

This week Microsoft unveiled the Kin, formerly Project Pink (previously), which emerged out of the troubled Sidekick (previously). Built on the same foundation as the Zune HD, making it the first in-phone use of the NVIDIA Tegra, the phones operating system is a cut-down version of Windows Phone 7 with a focus on photo sharing and social networking. Will the Kin make Microsoft cool again? Perhaps. Of course all eyes are still on the Smartphone market, and how Windows Phone 7 will compare to the iPhone. Some see a clear lead for WP7 from a developers perspective, others are more doubtful.
posted by Artw at 1:09 AM PST - 49 comments