August 27, 2009

"And there's a creepy doll..."

Sleep tight. (I recommend you listen to this while viewing the link.)
posted by grumblebee at 8:11 PM PST - 10 comments

Canada Reigns In Facebook

Facebook agrees to privacy changes [Flash video | article]. [more inside]
posted by shoesfullofdust at 8:08 PM PST - 43 comments

It's not a tumor

What do you do when your state's facing an $11 billion shortfall? Hold a garage sale. [more inside]
posted by HumuloneRanger at 7:56 PM PST - 46 comments

We Are Peculiar People (Regarding Food)

Getting Real About The High Price of Cheap Food. Why the food we're eating is hurting us, the animals we eat, our world, and what people are trying to do about it.
posted by Askiba at 6:47 PM PST - 205 comments

A maemo to Apple and Google

Nokia has announced the n900 running the maemo Linux based operating system will be released in October. The phone has similar specifications to the iphone, but with a keyboard and considerably higher resolution display (800x480). In addition the OS is an open platform with free GPL development tools. More from The Guardian and CNET.
posted by sien at 6:43 PM PST - 83 comments

No more mold on yer berries

No more moldy berries. There are plenty of problems in the world but having your berries going moldy overnight is no longer one of them.
posted by storybored at 5:52 PM PST - 45 comments

Iron Man Jr.

Everitt is a pyro.
posted by boo_radley at 5:15 PM PST - 28 comments

Snapple and a Shorti?

A five-page Washington Post epic about the pluralistic cults of WaWa and Sheetz. If you've ever spent any significant amount of time in the Mid-Atlantic states, you'll understand. (print format link)
posted by potch at 3:50 PM PST - 104 comments

The P vs. NP problem and its importance

The Status of the P Versus NP Problem It's one of the fundamental mathematical problems of our time, and its importance grows with the rise of powerful computers. (via mr)
posted by kliuless at 3:46 PM PST - 117 comments

Alas, poor Quagga! I knew him, Horatio.

Photographs of extinct animals.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:57 PM PST - 37 comments

Knut Hamsun.

Street Time for Hamsun. This month marks 150 years since the birth of the Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun, Nobel laureate in 1920. As well as the opening of a new centre dedicated to the man and his work, a whole range of events have been held in relation to this anniversary. It has also been the occasion for academic conferences, commemorative coins, tourism campaigns, and stamps. A writer of brilliance; a deeply problematic legacy. Previously on mefi.
posted by hydatius at 2:29 PM PST - 24 comments

“Randi Weingarten would protect a dead body in the classroom. That’s her job.”

The Rubber Room: The Battle Over New York City’s Worst Teachers.
posted by Oxydude at 1:52 PM PST - 81 comments

Oswald, Mickey, and Mortimer

Mickey Mouse's early road to fame (yt playlist with ~160 videos) has some odd twists and turns. One of Walt Disney's early cartoon creations was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the star of Trolley Troubles (5:45, 1927) and other early shorts. Disney had big plans for the popular little rabbit, and wanted to increase his budget from Universal Pictures. Unfortunately, Charles B. Mintz wanted to scale back the budget, and in the end Universal kept control of Oswald Rabbit. Without Oswald, Disney needed something new. Jack Dunham, one of Disney's Nine Old Men recalled animating Oswald and "the one without the ears." Initially, this one was called Mortimer, but Lillian Disney, Walt Disney's wife, believed the name "Mortimer" sounded too pompous and suggested the name Mickey, though Mickey Rooney claims he was the inspiration. Either way, the mouse was renamed Mickey in short order, and he starred in Plane Crazy (video, 6:00, 1928, previously). By 1929, he was wearing his iconic gloves (and talking), in The Karnival Kid (video, 7:41). But Mortimer returned, as Mickey's Rival (8:16, 1936), eventually getting his own themesong (1:56, modern recording off of TV; better quality song with a still image, 1:35) and again in a modern short (1:30, 2000), amongst other appearances. Then there's Uncle Mortimer, who first traveled with Mickey Mouse in Death Valley, though it's not always clear whose uncle he is. And in the alternate universe that is Bloom County, Mickey's fraternal twin is Mortimer (technically, he resides in Outland).
posted by filthy light thief at 1:51 PM PST - 10 comments

CBS

CBS plans to run video advertising Entertainment Weekly.
posted by Pants! at 1:07 PM PST - 48 comments

You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all squalid

An essay on the horrors of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, in the form of a Choose Your Own Adventure® story. [more inside]
posted by mhum at 12:47 PM PST - 40 comments

Lester Young Centennial

Lester Young (Aug. 27, 1909–March 15, 1959) is given not just a memorial, but extensive musicological criticism and contextual information in this ten-chapter series by jazz pianist and blogger Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus. Solo transcriptions and analyses, interviews with Lee Konitz, Tootie and Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, an essay on Young's influence on Miles Davis, a discographic primer and more. (Previously.) [more inside]
posted by ism at 10:26 AM PST - 14 comments

Lost and Found

On June 10th, 1991 Jaycee Lee Dugard, age 11, was kidnapped at a bus stop. Despite eyewitness who called authorities immediately and a massive manhunt she was never found. Today she walked into a police station.
posted by Bonzai at 10:25 AM PST - 230 comments

Dominick Dunne 1925-2009

Dominick Dunne died yesterday at the age of 83. was well known for his chronicling of the follies and crimes of the rich. You can read some of his pieces from Vanity Fair here.
posted by reenum at 10:00 AM PST - 28 comments

There were little kids in here watching the whole thing

Model Arrested for Posing Nude in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art "She told me there were naked statues everywhere," the guard said. "I said, 'Those statues are 400 years old. You're from the 21st century.' " (nsfw-ish) [more inside]
posted by dirtdirt at 9:40 AM PST - 106 comments

The hit Esperanto interactive simulator "Pato Viro Simulilo" available in English Language.

78641 is a "hit Esperanto interactive simulator" now available in English - a surreal freeware adventure game in which you play a frying pan named Dougo Beaches who deals with car trouble. There is time traveling. And don't worry, the Ethiopian children who drew the artwork were "paid in candy / peanut substance." Video trailer. Windows only. [more inside]
posted by jbickers at 8:09 AM PST - 13 comments

no mismatch exceptions or debuggin'

Coder Girl -- an ode to all the female programmers out there (youtube)
posted by Afroblanco at 7:51 AM PST - 80 comments

Flo Jo and family

"Twenty-five years ago this month, Al Joyner won a shocking gold medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles … and fell in love with a lady in tights."
posted by trillian at 7:49 AM PST - 13 comments

Whats it like to be a cow?

An Armadillo running and sniffing
The Mole-Cam
Cow Staring at Cow.
These and many more at the Museum of Animal Perspectives, a site run and curated by Sam Easterson.
posted by vacapinta at 4:31 AM PST - 39 comments

A Heartbreaking Wank of Staggering Spunkage

61 literary euphemisms for masturbation…
via the always discreeet Miss Cellania
(and yes, we've had something similar here before, but it missed this list, which is, you know, literary)

posted by wendell at 3:13 AM PST - 110 comments

Burning Man, a front page post

Metafilter has never really had a front page post just about Burning Man. Maybe this year it will be different, because Burning Man goes digital.
posted by twoleftfeet at 2:34 AM PST - 70 comments

maine ways

Maine Ways (SLYT)
posted by Anonymous at 12:20 AM PST - 40 comments

Corporate Brand Identity Avoidance Consultant

Aunt Feminina Boots's Char-Broiled Book Club — Feminina Boots has been experiencing a lot of difficulty lately trying to find a book club where she can say things that aren’t just going to upset people. [more inside]
posted by netbros at 12:18 AM PST - 18 comments

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