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Math owie! Was math in distress during its awareness month? Discuss. [Inspired by moz of TPK.]
posted by tamim at 11:56 PM PST - 25 comments

RIP: the american center for design. the acd was, at one point, the only organization to create forums in which design professionals - from information architects to typographers to materials specifications experts and back again - could discuss the cultural impacts of their disciplines, no matter the distance between their media. an era of intelligence in design ends, sadly.
posted by patricking at 11:19 PM PST - 7 comments

Kaycee On Law & Order? I just finished watching the new episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and there were some striking similarities between it and the whole Kaycee shebang last year. Little sick girl, nobody has met her, corresponds only through email and telephone. And then, *stunner* she's a fake. I mean, sure, there was a big nasty murder in this version, but I think the Law & Order writing crew has been reading Metafilter. Did you see the episode? Am I wrong? And does this mean that *gasp* web logs are having an effect on pop culture?
posted by benbrown at 8:51 PM PST - 23 comments

Did you forget to send a blue mountain card to Saddam? I'll just bet you did. And it was his 65th. Still time to send those birthday greetings. It might be the last one he gets to celebrate.
posted by MAYORBOB at 7:04 PM PST - 12 comments

When I was a newspaper-slinger back as a youngster, I became acquainted with that odd funnypages subgenre-the soap opera comic strip(i.e. Winnie Winkle,Rex Morgan, M.D. and the pinnacle of the genre Gasoline Alley). Moving at the brisk pace of 4 panels a day, these entertainments must have seemed quaint even in their early radio days infancy, yet they gained devoted followings and Dr. Rex and Skeezix and the Gang are actually still active. While the strips are published on the web, I'm surprised that there hasn't been a whole-hog revival of the genre. Heck, Brenda Starr could be truly funky hip modern woman if the right person retooled her a bit and I imagine many web community administrators could relate to Mary Worth at times.
posted by jonmc at 5:23 PM PST - 25 comments

Utah politics you don't know whether to laugh or cry. From Paul Rolly's column in the Salt Lake Tribune "The Republican state convention delegate was discussing with a prominent Utah GOP elected officeholder the issue of immigration when the delegate whined that a fence should be constructed to span the entire USA-Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants. "What happens when they climb the fence?" asked the politician. "You electrify it," said the delegate. "Then they won't touch it." "But what if they touch it? You would let them die?" "It would be their choice," said the delegate. "What about a mother with a baby strapped to her back? You would let the mother and the baby die?" "It would be the mother's choice to kill that baby," said the delegate. "Then you're in favor of abortion?" asked the officeholder. Dead silence. "
posted by onegoodmove at 4:49 PM PST - 24 comments

Teacher talked school killer out of continuing massacre A very gutsy teacher who seems to have helped in saving lives in the German school killings.
posted by Postroad at 4:01 PM PST - 18 comments

Israel refuses the UN factfinding mission, as if anyone ever had any doubts about a government that has consistently refused any third party monitoring, fact finding, or international observers, in any aspect of the conflict with its Palestinian neighbors. In doing so, Ariel Sharon's government yells out once more its disdain for international public opinion, and kicks yet another attempt at establishing an impartial view of the situation in the balls. If Israel acted in rightful self-defence in Jenin, then a UN fact finding mission could only confirm this state of affairs, now couldn't it? How long will we all stand by and watch this happen over and over again? Can we be critical of Israel without being labelled anti-semitic? Does the Holocaust provide permanent immunity from compliance with international law to the state of Israel? If as a white Christian I feel anger and frustration, what should my muslim brothers in other parts of the world feel? Am I surprised that some of them resort to dispicable means to make their point?
posted by coyroy at 3:09 PM PST - 26 comments

The good news is that there is no religious war, the bad news is that a time bomb blast killed 7 in a Russian market; 14 Christians were killed in Indonesia; a 5 year old killed and three other under 15 injured in Israel. All in one day.
posted by semmi at 3:04 PM PST - 10 comments

"From my cold dead hands." A vice-president of the National Rifle Association took credit for President Bush's election Saturday, saying that those who would restrict gun rights are engaged in "political terrorism." Hyperbole aside, is gun control a failure in the USA?
posted by tranquileye at 2:18 PM PST - 32 comments

Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project sets out to explore the heritage of the cultures of the Silk Road through artistic performances, cultural festivals and educational programs. The Silk Road Ensemble, led by Ma, performs new and traditional musical compositions from the various cultures of the Silk Road and have recently released their first CD. There is an article about it all in today's NYT.
posted by homunculus at 10:46 AM PST - 3 comments

The 12th Annual Golden Hairy Ass Award "Every year, for over a decade now, the eXile has been presenting its Golden Hairy Ass awards to the best, the worst, and the hairiest of things-Russian."
posted by kirkaracha at 10:39 AM PST - 5 comments

A Home for Crazy Artists - "The Haus der Künstler (House of Artists) at the Lower Austrian Psychiatric Hospital in the hamlet of Gugging, outside Vienna, was established by psychiatrist Leo Navratil, who began to notice that the art produced by certain of his patients far transcended the qualitative parameters of traditional art therapy ... The Gugging colony has exhibited throughout Europe, the United States and Japan, and is widely recognized for its pioneering integrity and quality."
posted by sheauga at 9:46 AM PST - 3 comments

If only I can dream. Okay, everyone listen up. I had this great idea last night -- first, I'm going to purchase a 144 ft. yacht. No, better yet, someone else will purchase the yacht for me. Then, I'm going to sail from Australia to Greece, stopping in 65 countries. Also, I will producing eight highly anticipated television shows along the way. It's going to be great! Okay, who's on board? Anyone? Hey, where's everyone going? Hello?
posted by aaronchristy at 5:03 AM PST - 26 comments

Won't Commit, Can't Commit Or Just Doesn't Know How? Are single men of a certain age better off alone...or just losers? The Observer's Nick Compton does a good job of presenting the contemporary evidence for both cases.[N.B. Forget, for the moment, women face the same dilemma...].
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:03 AM PST - 23 comments

Insaniquarium is arguably the most fun and addictive game I've played online since Bejeweled.
posted by PWA_BadBoy at 2:41 AM PST - 6 comments