August 1, 2011

Your views are out of step with modern society

"... if children could go to the polls then perhaps Fred Nile, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party in NSW [New South Wales, Australia], wouldn't have the power that he has today." An 11-year old Charlie Fine writes about an issue that affects children across the Australian state of New South Wales. [more inside]
posted by vidur at 11:47 PM PST - 58 comments

Riding the Korean Wave

한(汗) or Han [Click larger picture on the left to play the film], by 'The Chaser' and 'The Yellow Sea' film director, Na Hong-jin, is a Korean avant-garde short film in the vein of Maya Deren. If you liked that one and would like something a little more silly, check out: 완벽한 도미요리 (Cooking the perfect bream)
posted by Knigel at 10:05 PM PST - 13 comments

My God, it's full of stars!

Turner Classic Movie's "Summer Under the Stars" website is a load of (heavy-loading) flash goodness, and features pretty great interface design, including video content.
posted by crunchland at 9:58 PM PST - 22 comments

"I had to be here for this vote. I could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy,"

Slightly less than 7 months after being shot in the head while meeting with her constituents, Gabrielle Giffords returns to the House floor to vote for the debt limit. [more inside]
posted by get off of my cloud at 9:44 PM PST - 99 comments

In other news, text adventures still undead

Dead Cyborg has the heart of a text adventure within the body of a 3d engine (youtube trailer). Caveats: donationware - future episodes dependent on donations. burster plug-in required for browser play
posted by Sparx at 8:53 PM PST - 6 comments

So that's what all the Mario 2 levels look like...

NES Maps - for when you have to see exactly how that level of Zelda looks in an overworld view. Complete with full maps, background only maps, or sprites for your perusal. Complete with character names and title cards for most maps. You can even get one to hang on your wall to map out your conquests in Hyrule. Even more maps from VG Maps from a previous posting.
posted by deezil at 8:44 PM PST - 8 comments

The Keyboard Cat event makes it all worthwhile

Age of Fable is a web-based RPG with a whimsical sense of humor. [more inside]
posted by nickgb at 8:28 PM PST - 14 comments

Lies, damned lies, and News Corp.

As the empire of Murdoch begins to fall, descriptions of the harm his empire has caused are appearing.
posted by bitmage at 8:15 PM PST - 49 comments

"A true war story is never moral."

Classroom Wars: a middle-school history teacher on the seductive stories of mankind's battles.
posted by brundlefly at 7:18 PM PST - 19 comments

Traditional dance parties

A modern day pow wow is a Native American social gathering for dancing, singing, and honoring customs and traditions. [more inside]
posted by Deflagro at 7:07 PM PST - 18 comments

The Silly Adventures of Mr. Mochi (an Oblivion Machinima)

The Silly Adventures of Mr. Mochi (an Oblivion Machinima) via
posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:33 PM PST - 22 comments

The New Saddest Movies

The Saddest Movie in the World (starring Ricky Schroeder) has been used to make people cry in scientific studies, as we recently discussed, and the runner-up sad movie starred a famous animated deer. The scientific list of saddest (and most amusing, and scariest, and most disgusting) is now 16 years old, so Slate wants to update it. Their current suggestions to make people cry are these scenes from Finding Nemo, Dancer in the Dark, and Mystic River, but they are looking for others. Perhaps from the AV Club's films too disturbing to watch twice? [Warning: sad scenes are sad, gross scenes gross, scary scenes scary, and the funny one amusingish]
posted by blahblahblah at 2:04 PM PST - 363 comments

Canadian Juneteenth, aka "you don't really need a reason to go to the beach"

Today is a holiday across most of Canada, though there's little agreement as to why we get the day off. [more inside]
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:54 PM PST - 44 comments

Save Our Snark!

William Lawrence Cassidy has been indicted for a series of threatening tweets directed towards Alyce Zeoli, aka Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, the leader of a Buddhist organization known as Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) to which Cassidy had belonged. There is however a small problem that federal prosecutors are employing a vague anti-stalking law that makes 'intentional infliction of emotional distress' through the use of 'any interactive computer service' a felony, rather than focussing more narrowly upon the outright threats. [more inside]
posted by jeffburdges at 1:40 PM PST - 34 comments

Representing the shame of a great city

Philaphilia, a blog about Philadelphia buildings past and present, in which the little known architectural terms "badassivity," "concrete testicles" and "shitfucktastic garbitechture" are presented for your edification.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 11:15 AM PST - 36 comments

His noodly appendage, Eastern edition

It's not too late to start your observance of Ramendan, "[a] month of sacrifice in which followers eschew all other foodstuffs after sundown, to test their devotion to the almighty noodle." Sad to say, I'm familiar only with this version of the dish which seems to be more sacrilege than sacrament.
posted by idiolect at 10:58 AM PST - 54 comments

Get off my cemetery lawn

For a mere $65, headstone maker Quiring Monuments will add a QR barcode to a cemetery headstone and run a linked web site for five years. A Seattle cemetery manager says he is considering adding the codes to historical monuments and even trees.
posted by grouse at 9:55 AM PST - 54 comments

The Critic online? It stinks!

The story that lead to the creation of The Critic is an interesting one, starting as an idea for a behind-the-scenes show with a focus on the make-up lady for a morning talk show, which transitioned into the animated series that ran for two seasons on two different channels, plus 10 online shorts (on the blue, previously). If this is all news to you, you can peruze an old fansite and, or watch all 23 episodes online, plus the webisodes in two sets. Bonus: the Simpsons/Critic crossover, which did not amuse Matt Groening.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:39 AM PST - 79 comments

That will cost extra

Australian comic Jim Jefferies tells a story: Last Wish for a Friend [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:39 AM PST - 12 comments

NEVER MAKE YOUR OWN PASTA.

"Stews are, by nature, epic. So you need to be listening to something truly epic whilst you stew the fuck up. Hawkwind's 'Space Ritual' should cover it. On its original release 'Space Ritual' was advertised as '90 minutes of Brain Damage.' Luckily, you've got the re-release double CD which should have about '2 and a half hours of Brain Damage' on it. The perfect amount of time - measured in 'brain damage' - to stew a fucking rabbit. Christ's chopper! Let's cook."

Luke Haines has a cookery blog.
posted by ClanvidHorse at 8:58 AM PST - 33 comments

The logical conclusion of our relationship to computers: expectantly to type “what is the meaning of my life” into Google.

It’s for your own good—that is Google’s cherished belief. If we want the best possible search results, and if we want advertisements suited to our needs and desires, we must let them into our souls. James Gleick writes about 'How Google Dominates Us' for the New York Review of Books. [more inside]
posted by WalterMitty at 8:55 AM PST - 61 comments

Hoop dreams

The unlevel playing field - "Contrary to popular perception, poverty and broken homes are underrepresented in the NBA, not overrepresented. ... We believe that skills always trump circumstances. But that's a myth."
posted by mrgrimm at 8:49 AM PST - 16 comments

Women's health care: now without co-pays

Effective January 1, 2013, United States insurers will now be required to make a variety of medical procedures and medications available without copay as part of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. Although the availability of prescribed birth control without copay is likely to have the widest effect, the plan also includes breast pumps for nursing mothers, an annual well-woman examination, and testing for gestational diabetes and the virus that causes cervical cancer, as well as other services related to women's health. [more inside]
posted by catlet at 8:37 AM PST - 112 comments

Well, that about wraps it up for growth.

UCSD physicist Tom Murphy inaugurates his blog Do the Math with two posts on the thermal limits of energy use on earth and the related absurdity of infinite economic growth.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:23 AM PST - 60 comments

"In several cases, a family might build a second octagon when they outgrew the first."

"The most comprehensive source on octagon houses ever compiled." [more inside]
posted by jessamyn at 7:22 AM PST - 47 comments

La guerre Post-it

Ubisoft started it with four Space Invaders characters. The trend grew within Ubisoft and then to a couple (Youtube link) nearby offices. It has since spread (Google Translate link, original here). [more inside]
posted by jet_silver at 7:09 AM PST - 11 comments

FPS Russia - Don't be a beech

My new favourite internet celebrity Dmitri panders to every gun-nut's fantasy and demonstrates various firearms with humour, spectacle and cool Russian accent :) I give you: FPS Russia.
posted by 00dimitri00 at 6:50 AM PST - 36 comments

"Hi. I've got a tape I want to play."

Over three nights at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood in December 1983, Jonathan Demme filmed Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense. The band performed "Psycho Killer," "Heaven," "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel," "Found a Job," "Slippery People," "Cities,", "Burning Down the House," "Life During Wartime," "Making Flippy Floppy," "Swamp," "What a Day That Was," "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)," "Once in a Lifetime," "Big Business/I Zimbra," "Genius of Love" (as Tom Tom Club while David Byrne changed into the Big Suit), "Girlfriend is Better," "Take Me to the River," and "Crosseyed and Painless."
"Thank you. Does anybody have any questions?" [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha at 6:34 AM PST - 65 comments

History Changes

"History Changes". LG Telecom is Korea's perennial also-ran in the mobile telephone market. Their latest attempt at coming from behind includes another revision to their brand identity: "U+", replacing 2009's "Oz" rebranding effort. With operating profit down by half since last year, they are anxious to prove that they are as good as, if not better than, their competitors Korea Telecom (KT) and SK Telecom. Now that they are offering 4G service almost as soon as KT, LG sees itself as making history in the same way Barack Obama did when he demonstrated the equality of everyone in the Korean telecom market United States. Text overlay on images of Jim Crow-era American South: "It was utterly impossible for a black person to become the President of the United States." Voiceover: "History Changes! Beginning with 4G service".
posted by holterbarbour at 6:12 AM PST - 20 comments

Technically elegant but nearly forgotten

Ron Doerfler's Dead Reckonings - Lost Art in the Mathematical Sciences is a collection of essays, in weblog format, on historical techniques in mathematical sciences, antique scientific instruments and other related topics. [more inside]
posted by tykky at 5:55 AM PST - 21 comments

Details about the raid on Osama Bin Laden

In the New Yorker: Getting Bin Laden, What happened that night in Abbottabad. The writer, Nicholas Schmidle, spoke with NPR about the article and gives a short audio account of the raid.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:31 AM PST - 72 comments

A breath of Fresco air

Jacque Fresco is 95 years old. He met Bucky Fuller and Einstein when he was a kid. He's been trying to make a better world ever since. His designs are unusual, but he has been thinking about them for a long time. In 1974 he did an interview with Larry King. More recently his idea of a resource based economy, partially exemplified by the Venus Project has particular meaning. Future By Design is an hour and a half documentary about this strange maven.
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:56 AM PST - 12 comments

Bill Blass, eat your heart out

Mr. T on 80's Fashion
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:09 AM PST - 38 comments

just some blokes singing some songs

Here come old flat top, coming down fast, standing by a parking meter, oh what joy, I'll never do you no harm, and you're working for no one but me. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:08 AM PST - 22 comments

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