MetaFilter

Draft machine parts, not people! The Industrial Art Gallery is a collection of vintage engineering drawings. Perfect cover art for all you emo/math rock types. [via mimi smartypants]
posted by arto at 10:19 PM PST - 8 comments

Kampung: 60 photographs of Singapore architecture.
posted by sgt.serenity at 8:48 PM PST - 10 comments

In the first sweeping review of US Ocean management in 35 years the Presidential appointed U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy has released a report recommending creation of the Ocean Policy Trust Fund to be funded by off-shore oil companies in exchange for drilling rights to the tune of $5 billion a year. Initial reactions are mixed. All praise the reports acknowledgement of serious Ocean mismanagement problems, but some think the report has no teeth, or there is a hidden oil industry agenda. Whatever happens with this amount of money it will be big, the last report in 1969 led to the creation NOAA.
posted by stbalbach at 7:40 PM PST - 5 comments

I don't bite....haaaaaard. Making the commuter train ride more interesting: Bluetoothing for anonymous sex. Called Toothing (message board, may be NSFW), randy Brits are using the wonders of technology to find themselves a bit o' fun after a long day's work. Just set your wireless device to discover other nearby devices, send out the 'standard greeting' and get ready to get bizzay. Why do it? Well, the Toothing FAQ says it all: "It's fun! And exciting! And you can meet some wonderful new people and make proper friends. " Well, of course! And don't think it's just a British thing, Toothing's goin' international! So, reach out... reach out and touch someone. Don't forget to floss!
posted by tittergrrl at 4:25 PM PST - 20 comments

In defense of television. Bob Sassone's response to all this TV Turnoff Week talk.
posted by braun_richard at 4:01 PM PST - 100 comments

Norris McWhirter dies. A childhood hero, Norris co-created The Guiness Book of Records and was a knowledgable fixture on the BBC's Record Breakers for many years. "Apart from his family, his great loves were visiting the 1,049 offshore British islands and having a good game of tennis. He was energetic to the last."
posted by feelinglistless at 3:59 PM PST - 14 comments

An Island to Oneself: The Story of Six years on a Desert Island - Tom Neale
posted by hama7 at 3:48 PM PST - 11 comments

Can Spam Save the World? Mark Cuban, broadcast.com billionaire, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and Donald Trump wannabe (though he says he's not) is set to host a new "reality" show called The Benefactor. The winner gets $1 million bucks. This guy, who bought the terribly optimistic cubansmillion.com domain, claims he has a "well thought-out" 4-step plan to use the money to save the world. It sounds to me like it was conceived by the underwear gnomes. He fails to explain just how sending 50 million spam emails a day "generates 250 million dollars annually for charitable causes . ($5 in annual earnings per member enrolled.)" I'd be interested in hearing what others with experience in email marketing think. A viable idea or just crackpot self-promotion?
posted by sixdifferentways at 3:28 PM PST - 14 comments

The Art Millenium "The Encyclopedia was founded in May 1999. It contains more than 15,000 pictures and overviews of about 1000 artists. Total size is 2.5 Gigabytes" I was there in their Collections looking at Graphics (Dore, Beardsley, Cranach, Durer, Giger), specifically all of Max Ernst's Une Semaine de Bonte. I have not begun to scratch the surface.
posted by vacapinta at 3:24 PM PST - 4 comments

Still romanticizin' the beat generation? Lovely shots from the Venice West Picture Essay - a photo chronicle of the beat generation in venice west, california circa 1958….from the out-of-print "the holy barbarians" by lawrence lipton
posted by lilboo at 3:07 PM PST - 21 comments

The only photographs known to have been taken immediately after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
The photographer's (Yoshito Matsushige) testimony from Hiroshima Witness, talking about taking the pictures. This article waxes on about how few exposures he made, how many he framed but did not take.
posted by crush-onastick at 3:02 PM PST - 28 comments

Everything you [n]ever wanted to know about Silica Gel. With certifications suitable for fridge display.
posted by britain at 1:19 PM PST - 8 comments

Blurring the Line What do this fertility clinic and this publishing company have in common? Ask Lions Gate Films and BMW.
posted by obloquy at 1:18 PM PST - 8 comments

Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey are soldiers who went AWOL and fled to Canada. They share their stories on their websites. [Via Plastic.]
posted by homunculus at 1:13 PM PST - 65 comments

TRON becomes you... sort of.
(a beautiful obsession)
posted by moonbird at 12:37 PM PST - 32 comments

Taboo Tunes :: an interesting exhibit of controversial and banned music recordings (and sometimes cover photographs), which is especially resonant in the interesting times in which we live. Be sure to visit The Gallery of the Forbidden.
posted by anastasiav at 10:56 AM PST - 18 comments

Who is Fred Carlyle? Does he exist? How does he feel about food, love, miracles, the future? Will we ever find out? Maybe I only daydreamt his name.
posted by damehex at 10:47 AM PST - 11 comments

British television presentation, past and present. For the lover of Channel 5, DOGs, presenters, and mocking in all of us.
posted by armage at 10:37 AM PST - 6 comments

SpamKing: Out of the Inbox and Into the Closet? I wan7 my XXXXXXXL sh1rt N0W.
posted by freebird at 10:02 AM PST - 11 comments

This Is Where I Get My Read On Just in case MTV Cribs was coming to your, uh, crib.
posted by turbanhead at 9:13 AM PST - 43 comments