July 23, 2010

There is no try.

Tan Le shows off a headset that reads your brainwaves in action. [more inside]
posted by cthuljew at 11:07 PM PST - 34 comments

In Lesbo-Vision!

Susan Bell, mild-mannered secretary, thinks that pirates, space aliens, and lesbians are only found in pulp adventure novels. Until she is Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space! And finds out that she's one of them! You don't have to be a lesbian, a pirate or a space alien to read this web comic, but it helps.
posted by CrunchyFrog at 10:05 PM PST - 22 comments

An intimate evening ... with 6000 friends

The BBC Proms season is underway, and this year also they are running some 'late night Proms', second concerts held after the first concert of the evening is over. A couple of days ago, the Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires (Wikipedia) took over the cavernous Royal Albert Hall at ten in the evening for an all-Chopin, all-Nocturnes late night recital, attended by nearly 6,000 people. That may sound like a recipe for disaster, but she pulled it off wonderfully; it was an unforgettable experience, and you have until next Wednesday to hear it, on the BBC iPlayer. [more inside]
posted by woodblock100 at 8:04 PM PST - 24 comments

Poetry in Hell

Poetry in Hell contains a complete collection of poems recovered from the Warsaw Ghetto's Ringelblum Archives. The project, which took ten years to complete, gives English translations of poems that are shown in their original Yiddish. [more inside]
posted by zarq at 6:37 PM PST - 9 comments

In the Spotlight, China Re-Finding Religion

This week NPR featured a five part series of stories entitled, "New Believers: A religious revolution in China" that explores the growth and status of religion in China today. [more inside]
posted by Atreides at 2:19 PM PST - 66 comments

Bug of the Day

Flickr user Urtica posts pictures of elusive luna moths, surly bees, gregarious aphids, insect eggs, and of course beetles.
Most of these she finds in her backyard in Framingham, MA. She posts a new Bug picture every single day.
I give you Urtica's Bug of the Day!
posted by vacapinta at 2:15 PM PST - 23 comments

Great American Bike Race

In 1982 John Marino first organized The Great American Bike Race (now known as Race Across America, or RAAM.) The rules were simple: start at the Santa Monica Pier and end at the Empire State Building 2,968 miles with a small support team. Along with Marino were three other riders: Lon Haldeman, John Howard, and Michael Shermer (a decade later being a founding member of Skeptic Magazine.) Haldeman won with a time of 9d 20h 02m with second place, Howard coming in 14 hours later. ABC covered the race that first year as part of their Wide World of Sports [part 1 of 10]. [more inside]
posted by wcfields at 2:04 PM PST - 13 comments

Default Setting

The Government Accountability Office discovered that "23% [of for-profit university graduates] default [on their student loans] after four years compared to fewer than 10% of public-university grads." Unless for-profit universities can prove at least 45% of their students repay their debts (one among a number of benchmarks,) said universities may lose federal funding.
posted by griphus at 1:34 PM PST - 72 comments

Grieving through photography

Sometimes thought to be a bizarre Victorian custom, photographing corpses has been and continues to be an important, if not recognized, occurrence in American life. [more inside]
posted by brambory at 1:23 PM PST - 33 comments

"The Smith & Wesson Coloring Book for Kids"

SlushPile Hell (tagline: A grumpy literary agent wades through query fails) asks readers to come up with the WORST CHILDREN’S BOOK…EVER
posted by not_the_water at 1:17 PM PST - 46 comments

30 dollar Linux tablet?

An Indian laptop priced at just Rs.1,500 ($30) and touted as the world's cheapest will come as a godsend for students for whom it has been specifically designed. [more inside]
posted by codacorolla at 1:04 PM PST - 48 comments

Project Sissy

New Orleans Bounce music is here. But, it's always been here, in the projects (nsfw), on the streets (gratuitous).
posted by four panels at 12:48 PM PST - 14 comments

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am, not living in Iran.

Iranian kids brush off the government's approved hair cuts. For shame! A video at Al Jazeera's channel about hair drama in Iran. Read the Youtube comments if you have an intolerance-tolerant stomach.
posted by Tarumba at 11:33 AM PST - 24 comments

Die Young, Live Fast: The Evolution of an Underclass

Die young, live fast: the evolution of an underclass [more inside]
posted by modernnomad at 11:11 AM PST - 78 comments

Mila's Daydreams

Mila's Daydreams: "This is my maternity leave hobby. While my baby is taking her nap, I try to imagine her dream and capture it." Almost too cute.
posted by hoskala at 10:48 AM PST - 69 comments

A "Living History Book"

Daniel Schorr is dead at 93. Schorr began a career in journalism which spanned more than six decades at 12 years old, when he wrote a story for the Bronx Home News about a suicide. A woman had jumped from the roof of his building, he phoned the police and then wrote and article about the event, for which he was paid $5. After serving in military intelligence during World War II, he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and the New York Times before joining CBS in 1953 as one of the legendary "Murrow Boys". [more inside]
posted by rollbiz at 10:23 AM PST - 146 comments

The f**cking dolphins are f**king blowing oil out of their blowholes

Unf**k the Gulf has lots of swearing, lots, they're mad as f**k and are not going to take it anymore. Spend 13 on a Tee and 5 go to unf**king the gulf.
posted by dabitch at 9:18 AM PST - 36 comments

Why Movies Suck - Part 42

Hollywood ate my childhood [or] Why film remakes are desecrating our most precious memories. Hint: it's the money. [more inside]
posted by philip-random at 9:13 AM PST - 276 comments

Come Again

The Kleptones work their mashup magic on The Beatles' Come Together vs. a whole slew of other songs, and then Crumbs Chief turns it into a dance extravaganza. Celebrate your Friday with Come Again. (SLVimeo, 8m17s)
posted by hippybear at 9:12 AM PST - 14 comments

Ex Libris Metafilteris

"The Extraordinary World of Ex Libris Art." A collection of bookplates of the famous and the obscure, from Charles Dickens to Greta Garbo to Jack Dempsey. (Via VSL.)
posted by ocherdraco at 8:56 AM PST - 16 comments

Smiling computers and smoking bombs

Learn a little about the history of computer icons, and the theory behind what makes a good icon. The original computer icons were rather crude, but the art of icons has evolved. Even the once-ugly Windows computer icons have become pretty over the years (a slightly abbreviated one-page version). Among the memorable icons of icons is the once ubiquitous Mac icons of Susan Kare, the "Betsy Ross of the personal computer." [more inside]
posted by blahblahblah at 8:31 AM PST - 39 comments

Just be real

Life In A Day: Youtube's first Crowd-sourced feature film [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:00 AM PST - 12 comments

Good evening, America. He's Chloe Sevigny.

Comedian Drew Droege of the Upright Citizens Brigade performs as Chloe Sevigny.
posted by Help, I can't stop talking! at 7:35 AM PST - 39 comments

Harry Beckett RIP

Harry Beckett RIP Jamaican born trumpeter and flugelhornist Harry Beckett was one of the most hard working and adaptable players in UK jazz, playing with everyone from Chris McGregor to Jack Bruce. He's heard to great effect on this too, which is probably where I first heard him. He wasn't averse to spot of free improvisation either. He'll be much missed.
posted by peterkins at 7:10 AM PST - 4 comments

A 360° tribute to Escher.

A 360° tribute to Escher.
posted by hermitosis at 6:57 AM PST - 10 comments

"He wanted, he said, to die with his family around him."

The Photo That Brought AIDS Home
posted by the other side at 6:27 AM PST - 93 comments

Free Geography Tools

Free Geography Tools is Leszek Pawlowicz's invaluable collection of GIS links. [more inside]
posted by Iridic at 6:07 AM PST - 13 comments

Brandon Shaeffer's Movie Posters

Graphic designer Brandon Shaeffer blends conceptualism, block graphic, op-art and deco/streamline sensibilities. His movie poster re-designs are particularly fabulous. Much more can be found in his Flickr stream and tumblr blog.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:59 AM PST - 8 comments

Boing Boom Tschak

Elektro Guzzi play techno music.
posted by Dim Siawns at 3:21 AM PST - 6 comments

The Dream Machine

The Dream Machine is a flash point and click adventure game done entirely in claymation. A beta for chapter 1 is available if you sign up with an email address and password, a demo is available without signing up. (via JiG) [more inside]
posted by juv3nal at 2:15 AM PST - 10 comments

I don’t care that I’ve never seen Paris

For Jessica [more inside]
posted by Luddite at 1:57 AM PST - 58 comments

"All these worlds are (like) yours except . . . "

More than 100 Earth-like planets found . . . [more inside]
posted by IvoShandor at 1:30 AM PST - 48 comments

Cartracing game and zombie shooter from ConixGames

Skid MK is a fiendishly addictive and entertaining Mario Kart clone which has already taken up far too much of my week. Developers Conix Games also made a top-down zombie shooter in the Robotron tradition called Daytraders of the Dead, which is just about as addictive.
posted by Kattullus at 12:49 AM PST - 8 comments

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