The Original Benetton Colors: The Mysterious, Multirracialist Melungeons. "The Melungeon Movement is intent on not defining, or even further refining, racial boundaries, but instead on blurring them. We believe in one human race and that by being permitted to embrace our full multi-cultural heritage, we can more quickly make this dream a reality". Originally identifying themselves as Portuguese, Turkish and Native American slaves escaping from their Spanish and English captors, the Melungeons were the first to become literally lost in America. Always violently persecuted, Melungeons were probably the first enthusiastically anti-racist citizens of the United States and the origin of the melting-pot doctrine which flowered much later. Now there is a Melungeon Movement which takes those pioneers' "example of a multi-ethnic population which put aside its racial and cultural differences, came together and survived as one people (literally, the source of the slogan, One People, All Colors)". All fascinating stuff I know absolutely nothing about. Any suggestions, pointers or ideas?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:18 PM PST - 19 comments

OSeX! MacPr0n: Steve Jobs, meet Blow Jobs. [via Gizmodo]
posted by stonerose at 5:26 PM PST - 1 comments

The switch zoo for the species dysmorphic.
posted by srboisvert at 3:44 PM PST - 7 comments

The Matrix and Religious Undertones? Sci-fi fans, philosophers, Buddhists, and evangelical Christians are finding resonant themes in 'The Matrix.'
posted by turbanhead at 1:26 PM PST - 77 comments

[Your message here] Teehee! There can be no better spokesman for your particular passion or beef than Al Sahaf, the brave, beloved ex-Minister of Information of Iraq. It detects what country you're posting from and presents its own commercials first, but it's worth browsing about (the Top for All Countries is the best place to start). [Feels like a double post, smells like a double post, but apparently not. Flash req. Via Bifurcated Rivets.]
posted by Carlos Quevedo at 11:57 AM PST - 9 comments

Santa brought me cookies for Christmas. I did not eat them. I sold them on eBay. Much like the Amazon reviews that were an artform to themselves, someone goes a little crazy with the ebay reviews.
posted by Salmonberry at 11:13 AM PST - 20 comments

Blair Hornstine has won an injunction against her school naming a co-valedictorian. Now the suit (discussed earlier in this thread) will proceed to a trial to decide damages. The judge bought the argument of Hornstine's very expensive lawyer that the school is discriminating against her because of her vague, Chronic-Fatigue-like illness. The judge may have sided with Ms. Hornstine, but her classmates and the public at large are not. One anonymous poster who claims to be a classmate says "I can assure you from years of experience that the only condition Blair suffers from is chronic inflammation of the ego. " A Philly Columnist feels sorry for her. Personally, I think the judge is off her nut, as it seems pretty apparent that Ms. Hornstine isn't a bit disabled.
posted by CoFenchurch at 10:32 AM PST - 73 comments

Apparently monkeys cannot write Shakespeare.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 10:27 AM PST - 69 comments

The 25 greatest comic-book covers of all time, based on impact, readability, uniqueness/subject, and drawing/presentation. And the 12 dumbest. [via xBlog]
posted by kirkaracha at 9:43 AM PST - 51 comments

Perhaps you've seen the new MSN commercials that use M$'s "spam-blocking" technology to support their ISP service. Maybe you've read fluff pieces like these, where AOL and Microsoft execs are allowed to wax poetic about their deep anti-spam convictions:

"'I get spam too, and I am as fed up with it as all of our members are,' AOL chief executive Jonathan F. Miller said yesterday." "'To help keep intruders at bay,' Microsoft said, "we must all do our part.'"

So what's this all about? "'AOL and Microsoft argue there is a place for legitimate unsolicited e-mail in the marketplace,' said Marc Berejka, Microsoft's senior director of public policy."
posted by Pinwheel at 9:08 AM PST - 19 comments

Fun Friday link it is not. unless you like Rivers on Fire! Eco-devastation! "We Californians are really not very good conservationists - we're very good preservationists," he said. "Conservation means you use resources well and responsibly. Preservation means you are rich enough to set aside things you want and buy them from someone else." Ouch. I don't think environmental issues are ever as simple as some would like to believe. We live in a complex, interconnected world and this excellent--long--piece has given me a lot to think about. Ironic, in the beginning the author talks about finding a paper suitable to Print the article...i say, just Post it. Who needs paper for an article about resource conservation?
posted by th3ph17 at 8:20 AM PST - 6 comments

One of the more interesting Senate races in 2004 is shaping up in Florida, where everyone but the electorate appears to know that Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is gay. This open secret -- which would help explain how a "dream come true" right-wing politician has a strong gay-rights voting record -- calls into question whether respecting a person's right to "stay in the closet" perpetuates the idea that homosexuality is abnormal. (Via Eschaton).
posted by rcade at 7:20 AM PST - 80 comments

Celebrity caricature : the public web-presence of a small, non-public exhibit at the Smithsonian. This is an exhibit created by staff for staff, housed in one small display case outside the Catalog Management office in the main SI library. Some great material, and a loving presentation.
posted by SealWyf at 6:54 AM PST - 5 comments

US quietly eases rules for faith-based groups. The Bush administration has quietly altered regulations for the nation's leading job training program to allow faith-based organizations to use ''sacred literature,'' such as Bibles, in their federally funded programs. Further, the change made by the US Labor Department last month, could allow faith-based groups to use religious books as historical texts. (via dp)
posted by four panels at 6:42 AM PST - 30 comments

Whatever happened to Saturday Morning Cartoons? An astonishingly intelligent article about how Cable TV, dual-family households, regulations and more eliminated what more than a few of us remember quite fondly as the magical time when suddenly TV existed for our personal entertainment purposes. Anyone else remember occasionally dragging themselves out of bed at 6AM for what was ultimately five hours of really, really cool commercials? (Link from Fark!)
posted by effugas at 2:54 AM PST - 71 comments

Northern Exposure: A North Korean Travelogue
posted by hama7 at 2:53 AM PST - 6 comments

Google, everyone's favourite search-engine, is planning a seperate category for Blogs, to help searchers "filter out blog noise," from primary search results.
posted by Blue Stone at 1:34 AM PST - 45 comments