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As of yesterday, Dr. Mohammed Haneef was released from jail, amidst speculation that his incarceration had been unjust, and is on his way back home. It is believed that once he is ready, there will be a lucrative deal waiting for him if he wishes to tell his story (pdf of his transcript of detention), but for now, his wife, Firdaus Ashriya, is happy to have her husband back home.
posted by hadjiboy at 10:38 PM PST - 45 comments

A mating dance of the waved albatross on The Galapagos Islands. (60 sec. plus some other clips below)
posted by growabrain at 9:38 PM PST - 19 comments

Watch The Guild! Why? Cuz it's the funniest damned thing since Leeeroy Jenkins! (more inside)
posted by ZachsMind at 8:41 PM PST - 62 comments

Mesterinde Karen Larsdatter.
posted by hama7 at 6:53 PM PST - 22 comments

You're the star today! In 1976, ABC's Record and Tape Division came up with the Captain Zoom Personalized Birthday Record. A two-minute song with 8 instances of the birthday boy or girl's name was recorded and mastered for a paper-thin flexible 7" record. It was sent in an envelope along with the lyrics to the song, a mini-coloring book, and an order form. In 1978, the Record and Tape Division was disbanded. Robert Stiller, a sales consultant who was involved with the project at ABC, bought the rights to the project and began distributing the record with his own company. Captain Zoom left a lasting impact on those who heard his little jingle.
And there's a wedding version too. How sweet.
posted by mkb at 5:10 PM PST - 22 comments

Slaughterhouse. A brutally honest look behind the scenes. Loads of blood, dead pigs and people inbetween. Recommended for the whole family for sunday dinner - if you like your sausages! [Google Video, NSFW, Not safe for veggies or PETA]
posted by homodigitalis at 3:39 PM PST - 76 comments

"Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all." CBS News said, let's give Oscar the Grim Reaper Cat 349% more ink than FBI Director Mueller contradicting Attorney General Gonzales's testimony. Media Matters asks, "There are very real and very serious questions about whether the United States is currently a fully functional republic.... Isn't it time news organizations devote more resources to exploring these issues -- even if it means fewer stories about cats and cleavage?" Has Stupor Killed the Fourth Estate? Was James Fallows that the Media Undermine[s] American Democracy?
posted by orthogonality at 2:07 PM PST - 102 comments

Garth Marenghi (previously), horror writer, director, and actor. Star of the popular 80's series Darkplace which chronicles the trials a hospital staff must endure when working on the gates of Hell, now available for your viewing pleasure. Or pain. Gripping. Terrifying. Bloody. With bits of sick. (See more episodes on Google )
posted by kindle at 1:27 PM PST - 25 comments

Big-eyed kitsch art, paintings of waifs and sad eyes, pity kitty and pity puppy. Among this group of painters, Margaret Keane's story is quite interesting. For many years her ex-husband stole the credit for her paintings, she sued and won. Contemporary artists who include the big-eyed theme in their work: the amazing Mark Ryden. The hilarious [nsfw] and dark work of Colin and Sas Christian; Megan Besmirched and her Big Eyed Art Bonanza.
posted by nickyskye at 1:13 PM PST - 21 comments

Beautiful animated music video for Kwoon's "I Lived on the Moon."
posted by justkevin at 1:04 PM PST - 18 comments

The progression of obesity in America (where one's BMI is greater than 30) from 1985 to 2005.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:54 AM PST - 108 comments

bouncing ideas: “an infographically inspired, 1 take, top shot videoclip with professional trampoline gymnasts simulating typical video editing effects.” They had me at the spinning umbrella. (via crabwalk)
posted by whatnot at 11:25 AM PST - 11 comments

The United States and the European Union have agreed to expand a security program that shares personal data about millions of U.S.-bound airline passengers a year. Information that potentially can be used includes "racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership" and data about an individual's health, traveling partners and sexual orientation. "Even a request for a king-size bed at a hotel could be noted in the database." "E.U.'s privacy supervisor expressed 'grave concern' over whether the rules 'will be fully compatible with European fundamental rights,' calling the arrangement 'without legal precedent.'"
posted by ericb at 9:39 AM PST - 71 comments

The Lightning Field in New Mexico was one of the first earth art installations when it was installed back in the 70's. 30 years later it still stands and turns even the time you spend there into art. Here's an account by Pamela Petro of her time spent there.
posted by workinggringa at 9:25 AM PST - 26 comments

According to LA's Fox 11, Anonymous is epic evil and considered harmful.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:13 AM PST - 155 comments

Can't ever find what you are looking for at the bookstore? Tired of seeing pseudoscience or pop psychology books in the science section? Join a grassroots effort to re-shelve books to the appropriate section of the store: Biologists Helping Bookstores.
posted by corpse at 8:02 AM PST - 31 comments

Shorpy, the awesome photoblog of old photos has added a comics section and are now running newspaper comics from the first half of the 20th century. Via.
posted by jonson at 7:20 AM PST - 7 comments

Following this 2005 post, this documentary on Osaka "Host Clubs", "The Great Happiness Space" [Google vid 1:15; misleading preview here] is like nothing I've ever seen. Dark and light and wrenching and weird and funny. And dark. Kafka comes to mind for a lot of viewers, but this would fail as fiction. A midpoint shift forces you to confront a reality that is staggeringly complex. It's a kaleidescope of self-awareness and -delusion; compassion and manipulation; candor and deception. Layered, nuanced, and self-referential. The chief host's blog translated somewhat idiosyncratically by google, gives you another perspective [note: not included in the spirit of "LOL Engrish"]. This insider's account of a hostess club, written by a Duke University sociologist, is a lot more predictable and straightforward.
posted by Phred182 at 7:13 AM PST - 24 comments

F i d d l e.
posted by Mblue at 6:37 AM PST - 17 comments

The New New Journalism with short bios of a range of selected journalists compiled by Robert S. Boynton director of NYU's magazine journalism program. Remember New Journalism ? and now a look forward. Those who don't read much might prefer this.
posted by adamvasco at 6:24 AM PST - 11 comments

Ferris wheels making a comeback. Wheels across the world, past, present, and future, big and small. Graphic comparing various wheels. The London Eye. The Singapore Flyer. A triple Ferris Wheel that closed 10 years ago. And George Washington Gale Ferris's 1893 wheel that started it all.
posted by grouse at 3:21 AM PST - 14 comments

I am going to be a storm-a flame
I need to fight whole armies alone;
I have ten hearts; I have a hundred arms;
I feel too strong to war with mortals-
BRING ME GIANTS!

Lynn Hill's free climb of 'The Nose' route on El Capitan (GoogleVid 19:40). "What stunned the climbing world (although if anyone could do it, Hill could) was her success in freeing The Nose in 1993 over the course of four days, finishing a project no one else had managed in 30 years. To "free" a route you must climb only the rock, and only with your hands and feet. Although Hill could rest at belay stations and had a climbing partner to catch her when she fell, she led every pitch and managed to climb sections that previously had been ascended only with "aid"--that is, by hanging and climbing on equipment placed in the rock. She went back in '94 and did the same route, free, in 23 hours."[from her bio] Always wanted to try climbing? Have Lynn teach you.[image gallery][terminology]
posted by sluglicker at 2:28 AM PST - 21 comments

It's common for pro se prisoners to sue unusual defendants, but never before have I seen a list of defendants [pdf] so awe-inspiring. Francois Rabelais would truly be proud. Unfortunately, this particular prisoner's follow up lawsuit against Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick isn't nearly so entertaining.
posted by saslett at 12:22 AM PST - 65 comments