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"With the midterm elections in the U.S. Senate just six weeks away, everyone is wondering how the balance of power between Republicans and Democrats will shake out after November 2." Wonder no more with Google's 2010 U.S. Election Ratings Map. Information can be filtered by state, type of race (senate, governor, house), and by source. A Google Maps blog entry has more detailed info for those who want to dig deeper into the application. [via TechCrunch]
posted by bayani at 10:27 PM PST - 20 comments

The .Doc File of J Alfred Prufrock "Let us go then, you and I/When the evening is spread out against the sky/Like a laptop, put in sleep mode on a table..."
posted by magstheaxe at 9:23 PM PST - 32 comments

Earning $250,000 Does Not Make You Rich, Not in My Town. A controversial blog post from a University of Chicago Law professor makes its way around the web as the debates about president Obama's tax plan get louder. "Our combined income exceeds the $250,000 threshold for the super rich...The problem is, we can’t afford it. Here is why." [more inside]
posted by windbox at 9:18 PM PST - 377 comments

The Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names. Via.
posted by cashman at 7:32 PM PST - 32 comments

Never Say No To Panda [SLYT].
posted by Fizz at 6:38 PM PST - 40 comments

Do you enjoy decks? Jean shorts? Odd and offensive monologues? Christian Poetry? [more inside]
posted by snapped at 6:37 PM PST - 28 comments

"He sits at a table and spins his yarn, his only requisites being a small stick, the so-called 'wakening-rod' xingmu (in Yangzhou storytelling called 'talking stopper' zhiyu), a handkerchief and a fan."

A comprehensive guide to the art and tradition of Chinese Storytelling — with photographs, text, audio and video clips illustrating elements of performance.
posted by unliteral at 6:20 PM PST - 3 comments

Recently uploaded airplane camera footage from 1945 Japan (slyt). Uploaded from the Romano Archives (previously).
posted by glaucon at 5:49 PM PST - 34 comments

Spiked milkshakes? Braised short-ribs for breakfast? Yes, please! [more inside]
posted by gman at 5:16 PM PST - 17 comments

Jabberwacky, A Free Comic Book about the Middle Ages (sort of) from Wide Awake Press (also available in pdf or cbz format) [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:33 PM PST - 4 comments

It gets better. Billy Lucas committed suicide September 9th. Hate messages have been left on his memorial page. Dan Savage was looking for a way to reach out to every gay kid in high school and tell them that they have something to live for, so he started another youtube channel, encouraging submissions from those who have gotten through it. Dan has a well known sex advice column and podcast. Previously
posted by poe at 3:09 PM PST - 82 comments

PopSci: Archive Gallery: From Chicago to Shanghai, 138 Visionary Years of World's Fairs [more inside]
posted by zarq at 2:35 PM PST - 5 comments

When Gillian Hills was discovered in 1958 by Roger Vadim, she was touted as being the next Bridgett Bardot. She went on to star in such films as Antonioni's Blow Up and the British rock and roll film Beat Girl, and even had a small part as Sonietta, the girl with the lollypop in A Clockwork Orange. But it is her early '60s French pop records which fascinate me. Here with Qui a su, Rien n'est changé, Rentre Sans Moi, Look at Them and Tomorrow Is Another Day .
posted by puny human at 1:57 PM PST - 7 comments

The Vatican Bank is once again Under Investigation. In 1982 The Vatican Bank was involved in the Ambrosiano Scandal with its associations with Roberto Calvi, Gladius, Opus Dei and the P2 masonic lodge, all well documented.
The story was summarised in a 1982 Time article. The Vatican Bank is also known as the The Institute for Works of Religion and apparently holds 5 billion Euros in complete secrecy (pdf). For further reading there is the book Vatican exposed.
posted by adamvasco at 1:55 PM PST - 125 comments

Stan Lee has not yet been told about ... GRIT! FEATURING -- Dourdevil, the man without a sense of humor (different presentations of the same comic). The year was 1983, and Alan Moore was spoofing the style of Frank Miller (bibliography), towards the end of Frank Miller's run with Daredevil. Moore thought highly of Miller, if one believes what Moore wrote in "The Importance of Being Frank" (linked therein as a .cbz file), which was published in the same comics magazine run as Grit! [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 1:10 PM PST - 53 comments

What does four weeks, 124 takes, 12 trainers, two furniture movers, 12 dogs, one goat, 38 buckets and a bunch of furniture equal? OK Go's new video White Knuckles, all shot in one single take. A behind the scenes look at the video here.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 11:45 AM PST - 94 comments

Can you write a hack in 140 characters? Someone figured out how, and now Twitter is infested with them. They say they'll have a fix today. In the mean time, the twitter page belonging to the wife of the British PM has been hacked, making it redirect to a Japanese porn site.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:15 AM PST - 53 comments

Music Hack Day heads back to Boston October 16 and 17. Music Hack Day is a free-to-attend 24-hour convergence over two calendar days designed to throw together programmers, musicians, artists, conceptualizers, and, of course, marketers and promoters. "Music + software + hardware + art + the web. Anything goes as long as it's music related." Music Hack Day London just ended (September 4, 5). My favorite (and the MHD-London winner!) was Speakatron, which is WebCam + Software = Goofy Fun! (related, previously) [more inside]
posted by beelzbubba at 9:20 AM PST - 4 comments

Pokémon Apokélypse: The Live Action Trailer [SLYT]
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:25 AM PST - 33 comments

"Make-up is great. It is a powerful tool, a way to express yourself, your mood and interior life. But, when you can’t go without something, it loses its spark." We are two days into Rabbit Write's NO MAKE-UP WEEK.
posted by hermitosis at 8:23 AM PST - 228 comments

New York:

High Quality - $448.92/oz
Medium Quality - $341.42/oz
Low Quality - $183.36/oz
posted by swift at 8:02 AM PST - 175 comments

He showed that the Royal Mail will deliver things as small as a bee or as large as an elephant; he once posted himself home; and he invented the self-recirculating postcard - it had two sides, each with a different address. W Reginald Bray was a genius at mail art and the self-proclaimed autograph king. [more inside]
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:51 AM PST - 13 comments

The new planet, currently under development and slated for launch next year, will be an immersive virtual space themed after iconic visuals drawn from Michael’s music, his life and the global issues that concerned him.
posted by Joe Beese at 7:44 AM PST - 9 comments

When a thief stole a backpack and a GPS unit from Amanda Enayati's car, he picked the wrong target to mess with. [more inside]
posted by acb at 7:02 AM PST - 222 comments

Is Groupon worth it for businesses? Depends who you ask. Posies Cafe says no. [more inside]
posted by Windigo at 6:48 AM PST - 84 comments

Facing social pressures, families disguise girls as boys in Afghanistan. (slnyt)
posted by killdevil at 6:46 AM PST - 15 comments

Every day the same dream. Every day the same dream.
posted by tybeet at 5:23 AM PST - 15 comments

This new Australian tv quiz show is so awkward it's endearing, and Lily's good at maths! [more inside]
posted by compound eye at 2:14 AM PST - 42 comments