Independence Days Worldwide. Happy Independence Week, Bahamas! or What else happens in July? There's a lot of independence holidays, as there was a fair bit of colonialism to get out from under during the 19th/20th centuries. And most countries in general have important victories and events to celebrate... many of us are familiar with Bastille Day and Cinco de Mayo, for example. The dates aren't so much important as the realization of the stories and struggles that have gone on and still go on around the world, but the dates are a place to start.
posted by namespan at 11:45 PM PST - 6 comments

I'm not precisely sure what's going on here, but it's pretty, and it tinkles. [note: flash]
posted by crunchland at 9:27 PM PST - 25 comments

Microsimulation of road traffic with a time-continuous model [via MagentBox]
posted by riffola at 6:34 PM PST - 14 comments

Meet the People of the Peacock Angel, the Yezidi. Theirs is a religion and culture centered near Mosul, Iraq, as well as Syria, the Caucasus, the via the diaspora in Germany. Seclusive and secretive, the Yezidi have often been maligned by outsiders due to misinterpretations of the nature of their primary Deity, Malak Taus (once a rebel angel who recreated the world and doused the fires of hell with his tears). Gurdjieff (pt. I, pt. II) may have been heavily influenced by them. Unlike other middle-eastern religions, the Yezidi have rejected dualism and, therefore, the ideas of sin and evil. Various versions float around of the Black Book of the Yezidi and other works that form their sacred literature. Wars, political pogroms and proselytizing have placed this beautiful, complex and misunderstood tradition in jeopardy.
posted by moonbird at 4:34 PM PST - 14 comments

Scamming the scammer Somewhere along the line I think we've all wondered what would happen if we answered the Nigerian 419 scam email. Now we don't have to. Someone calling himself 'ebola monkey man' has been taking the scammer's on a email journey to the point that he will only agree to send them money if they send him a silly picture of themselves holding up a sign with their name on... [via b3ta]
posted by feelinglistless at 3:59 PM PST - 11 comments

The First, The Last, The Everything. Barry White, soul legend, dies at 56.
posted by metaxa at 1:56 PM PST - 28 comments

You got me trippin.' For those of you who miss some of the visuals of controlled substances. Not high-tech, but some fun candy.
posted by datawrangler at 1:32 PM PST - 10 comments

living in atlanta? missing kozmo? meet zifty! they're closed for the holiday today, but if you've got a hankering for snackage, movies or the essentials of life (and you live in cental atlanta), then zifty might just fill that portion of your life that's been empty since april 11, 2001.

has anyone spotted any other companies attempting to reproduce the kozmo experience on a low-coverage, one-city-only scale? even with all of its instant gratification, does this idea really stand a chance?
posted by grabbingsand at 12:21 PM PST - 10 comments

Wales and sports. I'd not put the two together, being from across the Atlantic. But, as we approach next weekend's Mountain Bike Bog Snorkeling Championship, I'm amazed the sport isn't better known in the States. Though, after reading about it from the 2000 Woman's champion, I think I'd rather participate in their horse racing marathon (there's a big bonus for crossing the finish before the horse) or bikeless bog snorkeling events. What sporting events are there where you're from that haven't yet gotten the world wide audience they deserve?
posted by bragadocchio at 11:03 AM PST - 1 comments

Box-Bots are robot-like collages made only from product packaging and labels. My favorite: Strawberry Pop Tarts.
posted by iconomy at 10:45 AM PST - 13 comments

Watch the watchers. Government Information Awareness:A single, comprehensive, easy-to-use repository of information on individuals, organizations, and corporations related to the government of the United States of America.
posted by srboisvert at 9:27 AM PST - 5 comments

Sweatshop-free T-shirts "We are not about "made in USA". We are about American values. We believe in the American dream and want to do more for our customers and employees. We are pro-workers rights— whether in Los Angeles or anywhere in the world. We manufacture in the United States not because we are crazy flag fanatics but because it is the most vibrant T-shirt market in the world and therefore the most efficient place to manufacture our T-shirts." In the middle of one of the worst economic climates in decades, with (actual) unemployment near 9 percent, an American company with the courage to compete against the Global Sweatshop economy. Is Politically-driven consumer markets the future? Or do you really need that Nike logo? Could "Sweatshop-free IT Services" be far behind?
posted by reality at 7:44 AM PST - 40 comments

Anyone for tardis tennis? Not much of an FPP, but its Friday and its Flash and its mildly irritating fun.
posted by biffa at 7:38 AM PST - 8 comments

432: Cosmic Key. 'A compendium of fact, theory and speculation relating to the number 432, and its primary divisors and multiples - 108, 216, 864, 1296; and also the number 9 - being the sum of digits 4+3+2; with excursions into many other mysterious and exotic phenomena. ' Good clean fun.
posted by plep at 5:19 AM PST - 10 comments

The Vertically Inclined Photographer: Shooting Paris, Rome, the French Riviera and the Loire Valley from a low-flying plane is Patrick Durand's photographic obsession. It's an interesting flat alternative to Horst Hamann's [click on "Gallery" and go to "New Verticals"] tall vertical New York. There's something very exciting about looking at familiar sights from an unfamiliar point of view. [Both sites very, perhaps too Flash.]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:34 AM PST - 14 comments