MetaFilter

Occasionally the folks at Snopes get asked to debunk some very unusual potential urban legends; questions so ridiculous you can only marvel at the motivation behind the asker's particular situation. Fortunately, they have collected and published the best of these questions online. found via
posted by jonson at 11:28 PM PST - 39 comments

Nothing fancy — except, perhaps, the multidimensional sacred geometry.
posted by Rothko at 11:13 PM PST - 11 comments

Atoning for World War II, 60 years later (and Japan should continue to do so) It's no news regarding Japan's role during WWII. However, unlike Germany, Japan has yet to fully apologize and repair strained relations in Asia. However, it is complete crap that U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer thinks that people should glaze over the atrocities in light of Japan's monetary donation. Let's not forget that the US benefitted from the medical experiments that were conducted by the Japanese and that in the fight against communism was willing to quickly establish an outpost and let bygones be bygones.
posted by dkhong at 10:56 PM PST - 40 comments

"The explosion of suggestive images [in Chinese media and art] is partly a reflection of changes in Chinese society -- many sociologists say China is in the midst of a sweeping sexual revolution -- and partly due to market reforms...The government has not given the press free rein to publish material with sexual themes, but the way censorship is carried out means that some media outlets can get away with quite a lot. Rather than issue top-down decrees, Beijing's censors primarily react to existing material, so websites, whose content is easily removable, and publications far from Beijing, which are less likely to attract censors' attention, can take more chances. Still, articles on topics such as 'China's Janet Jackson,' a TV star who has twice revealed a breast in public, and the incidence of erectile dysfunction among China's urban men are now common in the national media."
posted by JPowers at 10:09 PM PST - 14 comments

I could have posted a bunch of different links then added a little “via” to the actual blog, but the truth is I just want to point out that Drawn! is a cool illustration blog.
posted by signal at 8:41 PM PST - 12 comments

Hour 25 Online is a science fiction radio station that's been broadcasting since 1972. They're available online now and have a very nice archive of interviews with science fiction authors and other luminaries.
posted by substrate at 6:39 PM PST - 5 comments

A new planet has been found. The new planet, named 2003 UB₃₁₃ is the farthest known object in the solar system, larger than pluto and a lousy tourist destination. Slacker Astronomy has an interview with co-discoverer Dr. Chad Trujillo.
posted by mosch at 6:31 PM PST - 39 comments

Senate proposal to ban Chimeras - How long will it take our elected betters to tank all US scientific research on moral grounds. I don't see christian ethics stopping the Chinese
posted by sourbrew at 6:08 PM PST - 47 comments

Walter Miller's homepage Picked up recently via kottke.org, this is a years-old webpage (not updated recently) detailing the miserable details of poor Walter's white trash existence. It deserves to be read by a whole new generation. The art of misspelling is taken to new heights.
posted by Holly at 2:37 PM PST - 11 comments

Alexei Sayle's writing for the Independent in the Motoring section. Occasionally it's about motoring, too! Also found was his "Imitating Katherine Walker" [html/pdf] and an excerpt from his book of short stories 'Barcelona Plates'. more inside
posted by Zack_Replica at 2:31 PM PST - 10 comments

Dad 'n Me is a new Flash game by the wacky indie game developer team The Behemoth. Their previous game Alien Hominid started out as a free Flash version that has since been ported to consoles and commercially released on consoles. Be on the lookout for a guest appearance by AfroNinja.
posted by Nelson at 2:05 PM PST - 9 comments

Coke. Guns. Booty. Beats. In the slums of Rio De Janeiro, drug lords armed with submachine guns have joined forces with DJs armed with massive sound systems and rude, raunchy singles. Welcome to the most exciting—and dangerous—underground club scene in the world.
posted by Count Ziggurat at 1:18 PM PST - 23 comments

The Pixies: rare video & interviews, plus images & video from the 2004 reunion tour
posted by jenleigh at 12:56 PM PST - 12 comments

Forgotten and derelict, the second-biggest railway station in Europe (after Leipzig), Canfranc rots quietly in a valley in Northern Spain. It lost its international link to France when a runaway train demolished a key bridge. Now the campaing to save the station has attracted hunger strikers. More info & pictures (mostly in French).
posted by gdav at 10:57 AM PST - 9 comments

White Ninja Comics are not for the weak of mind. They are a brilliant satirical commentary on controversial worldly issues.
straight to the archive
posted by Edible Energy at 7:43 AM PST - 28 comments

Coso Rock Art: "The Coso Rock Art District, a National Historic Landmark deep in the U.S. Navy's testing station at China Lake, contains one of America's most impressive petroglyphic and archeological complexes . . . . Coso rock art has become famous for its stylized representational symbolic system, a system that has intrigued—and baffled—archeologists and lay observers for decades." A guide to the rock art types here. See also A Guided Tour of Coso Rock Art and the Coso Gallery.
posted by LarryC at 7:26 AM PST - 8 comments

The Sky At Night Every episode of the BBC science series made since the end of 2001 viewable online. Anything I know about the universe I learnt from Patrick Moore.
posted by feelinglistless at 5:25 AM PST - 17 comments

Umbert The Unborn, the world's most lovable unborn baby & The wacky adventures of a fetus. Order now for Christmas
posted by growabrain at 2:30 AM PST - 86 comments