Start here and work your way up to page one to see the most remarkable achievement of DC Comics just-completed weekly series, 52. 52 weeks worth of amazing covers by artist J. G. Jones! A weekly blog for each cover starts here. This one was my favorite. 52!
posted by WolfDaddy at 11:04 PM PST - 27 comments

Planktoon 3D Animation. [Via Monkey Filter via Ample Sanity.]
posted by homunculus at 10:54 PM PST - 5 comments

Welcome, space brothers, from representatives of planet earth! It's the Unarius Academy of Science. (wp)
posted by serazin at 10:08 PM PST - 17 comments

There may be some among us who can imagine 20 days in captivity; perhaps a fraction of those can imagine a full year deprived of liberty and most human contact. But 20 years? Downey and Fecteau have consistently sought to downplay their period of imprisonment; and neither has done what arguably too many former CIA officers do these days with far less justification: write a book. Downey has said that such a book would contain "500 blank pages," and Fecteau says the whole experience could be summed up by the word "boring."

Extraordinary Fidelity: Two CIA Prisoners in China, 1952–73 [secure link] by Nicholas Dujmovic, a CIA historian and a veteran intelligence analyst. Time article about Downey and Fecteau from 1954.
posted by Kattullus at 8:15 PM PST - 26 comments

Has Australia's largest cycling club attempted to cover up the possible causes of a fatal crash at its latest event? The Canberra Cycling Club's press release says that the race was conducted in accordance with Australian road rules. Their photo gallery for the event certainly shows small groups of riders keeping to one side of the centre line. Local sleuths The RiotACT say different.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:53 PM PST - 66 comments

Sizzlingly Inappropriate Republican Debate Hottie Rundown! --in what's becoming a recurring series (see her UK Hostages and Dem candidates here), Werthmann rates (in a supergroovy Tiger Beat/fan mag way) the 10 GOP hopefuls appearing tonight in the Debate. On Rudy: ... The way he burns through spouses, we think he's fair game. Hey, Rudy, we need some "consulting"! ... : >
posted by amberglow at 3:56 PM PST - 82 comments

RIP Wally Schirra, 1923-2007. One of the original Mercury Seven "Right Stuff" astronauts (just two left now), Schirra flew on Sigma 7, Gemini 7, and Apollo 7. From there on, it's stationkeeping.
posted by brownpau at 3:23 PM PST - 50 comments

Ok, so do you remember Danny Devito's appearance on the view last year? The one during which he was obviously drunk? He blamed it on the "last seven limoncellos..." And now he has his own line of limoncello, which its own awesome theme song. (Last link has auto-playing music, but it's so worth it.)
posted by crickets at 3:17 PM PST - 33 comments

Americas Favorite Architecture - The American Institute of Architecture lists its 150 most favorite buildings as ranked by its members. Zoom-able photos and building information herein. You can also rate your top five.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:57 PM PST - 67 comments

Matthew Rossi spins elaborate conspiracies out of obscure and esoteric history: explaining the disappearance of Jamestown with reference to ancient Persian cults and secret books of knowledge, or exploring the idea that Ben Franklin worked with Thomas Jefferson and François Fourier to perfect a method of living forever. Several more ornate pseudohistories are available at the Encyclopedia of Heresies. There is an interview with Rossi about his "New Weird" science fiction book Things that Never Were, though Rossi seems to have vanished since, his homepage with other tales available only in archive.
posted by blahblahblah at 1:07 PM PST - 25 comments

For Sale: 1969 Dodge Charger R/T with plate for 426 Hemi. New engine: 1998 511 crate motor w/ 725hp. Many custom extras. 10K miles, excellent condition. $2.75M. Serious inquires only. Ask for John.
posted by fandango_matt at 12:40 PM PST - 54 comments

Instead of yet another social networking site, why not try an anti-social networking site? Presenting Spatula of Death, where the goal is enmity, not community. Smite your friends enemies or watch other people smite theirs, and you'll get to watch a poor stuffed monkey get whapped on the head with a spatula over a live web feed. Rate other users' smites, and have your own smites rated, earning Douchebag Points (TM) for the most cutting remarks and cruel behavior. The site was created as a thesis presentation for Tisch ITP at NYU; watch the creator discuss it.
posted by Asparagirl at 12:35 PM PST - 14 comments

Disco cellist Arthur Russell is the subject of a new documentary. MP3s for those who don't know him: Sidebar here, here, here (photo may be NSFW), more here.
posted by klangklangston at 12:04 PM PST - 10 comments

Useful Void: The Art of Forgetting in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing. Like they said in Strange Days, "Memories are meant to fade. They're designed that way for a reason." What happens when there's a record online of every site you've ever visited, every flippant comment you've ever made, every embarrassing question you've ever asked? Maybe computers, like people, should be designed to forget.
posted by MsMolly at 11:22 AM PST - 37 comments

Here's a little DogFilter for you, courtesy of Drew of Toothpaste For Dinner fame. Not only does Charles get a finger up his ass, but he also has a licking problem.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 11:20 AM PST - 19 comments

Modern yurts. Not just for hippies/nomads/ren fairs anymore.
posted by jasonsmall at 10:45 AM PST - 25 comments

Tim Ferris claims to have gained 34 lbs. of muscle in 28 days while exercising for only four hours, total.
posted by craniac at 10:41 AM PST - 93 comments

Freaks and Geeks keeping it real. [TNR login=metafilter pwd=metafilter] In late March, New Republic columnist Noam Scheiber posted an article strongly criticizing, among other things, Chicago Economics Professor Steve Levitt's "cute and clever" approach to the dismal science, now famously known as Freakonomics. Levitt replied last week with a post of his own. And now, Scheiber has appears to want some more of this.
posted by psmealey at 10:05 AM PST - 40 comments

I hope STS-117 isn't delayed by this train wreck like it was from that hailstorm last March.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 9:06 AM PST - 24 comments

Reality, Imagination and Fear. Three short animated films by young students and artists. [more inside]
posted by sluglicker at 8:51 AM PST - 3 comments

Controversy in Canada! It seems that Canadian politicians have nothing better to do. The hockey Don weighs in. The issue described in brief here. More press links here. Lastly, some comparible(?) incidents.
posted by Totally Zanzibarin' Ya at 8:34 AM PST - 26 comments

loltrek
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:03 AM PST - 87 comments

Aptitude Schmaptitude! While the state of mathematical incompetence in this country has been much lamented, most famously in Paulos's brilliant 1988 book Innumeracy, it is still tacitly accepted . . . Being incompetent in math has become not only acceptable in this widely innumerate culture, it has almost become a matter of pride. No one goes around showing off that he is illiterate, or has no athletic ability, but declarations of innumeracy are constantly made without any embarrassment or shame.
posted by jason's_planet at 7:30 AM PST - 140 comments

Solar Tower (text and video). "The rays of sunlight reflected by a field of 600 huge mirrors are so intense they illuminate the water vapour and dust hanging in the air."
posted by stbalbach at 7:15 AM PST - 61 comments

virtual labor
posted by konolia at 7:04 AM PST - 31 comments

The caferteria had garbage an all tables. At my middle school in Staten Island, thought the dean, this cannot stand. So he sent home a letter.
posted by staggernation at 6:54 AM PST - 109 comments

The Wrong Trousers (Quick! If the goofy song "Calvin" starts playing, click to play the other song, "Had") are an unconventional three-piece folky music group, with an average age of 16. Their stated influences are: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Joseph Campbell, Joni Mitchell, Salvadore Dali, Neil Innes, Thomas Jefferson, Matta and mom & dad. A friend of mine found them when he was nostalgically searching for an 80's music video and instead found this. At first watch, I thought it was a gag (either intentional or not), but found it somehow compelling to watch. I think they remind me of what my brother and I and our friends would do in hish school, except with some talent. I really like I their original song,"Had." (The other song is a burlesquey thing that I don't). The word on this odd-looking group is apparently spreading.
posted by centerpunch at 5:48 AM PST - 34 comments

Socially responsible design.
posted by dhruva at 12:10 AM PST - 79 comments