January 2, 2003

News

UN head sees no reason for war with Iraq. The BBC is reporting that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that he sees no basis at present for the use of force against Iraq.

Fun's over, now put away your toys and go home.
posted by CrazyJub at 9:37 PM PST - 64 comments

Coffee: Lovelier than a Thousand Kisses

The Coffee Science Information Centre. Bach once referred to coffee as "lovelier than a thousand kisses." The writers and researchers at the Coffee Science Information Centre would agree. This site takes a scientific look at coffee, especially in regard to caffeine and health. Coffee through history is also examined. ::credit::
posted by anastasiav at 9:18 PM PST - 17 comments

Did someone say flash-freeze?

A short history of frozen food.
posted by The Michael The at 8:30 PM PST - 5 comments

The Legacy Project

The Legacy Project.
Among other things contained there, the Video about The Legacy Project, The Art of Afterwards, The Legacy Events Index, Literary Sampler, Visual Art Library and Filmography.
posted by y2karl at 8:17 PM PST - 2 comments

The original K9 top coat lycra bodysuit!

Bored with ordinary pet clothes? Jaded with even the fancy stuff? Okay, then - go over the top and put your dog in a skin-tight lycra bodysuit. Not only does it make almost any dog look oddly aerodynamic, it has the added benefit of making them look really, really silly.
posted by yhbc at 7:47 PM PST - 24 comments

Shaqzilla dethroned.

Shaqzilla dethroned. Shaquille O'Neal, who warned Chinese citizen & #1 draft pick Yao Ming to "Look Out, Shaqzilla is coming" (presumably unaware that Tokyo is not part of China), has been dethroned; currently in fan balloting, he is running a distant second to the rookie for starting center in the All Star game. Even though his numbers are effectively double those of Yao's, even though he's a three time NBA Finals MVP.
posted by jonson at 5:05 PM PST - 27 comments

Jackass sues Jackass!

Jackass sues Jackass! The jackass of the first part, who had his name legally changed to Jack Ass in order to raise awareness about drunken driving somehow, has sued Viacom, owners of MTV, proud presenters of Jackass, a show about grown men falling over things and drinking pee pee, for *ahem* defamation of character. Frivolous lawsuit at its finest, or should Mr. Ass check the dictionary?
posted by mikrophon at 2:24 PM PST - 18 comments

Coal + Diesel = Alternative Fuel?

Coal + Diesel = Alternative Fuel? I didn't think it was this easy, but Marriott International shows us how to make alternative fuel and a handy windfall, all at the same time:

1. Buy a ton of coal (cost: $24)
2. Spray it with diesel
3. Sell it at a loss (40 cents on the dollar)
4. Hold your hand out for $26 per ton from the government in tax credits--for making an "alternative fuel." It made Marriott an estimated $120 million last year. So there's a late Christmas message for you: nothing's more valuable than the things you make yourself. Especially a fat profit.
posted by busbyism at 2:03 PM PST - 23 comments

Star Wars Origami

Star Wars Origami.
It's exactly what it sounds like: square pieces of paper folded in elaborate ways to look like characters and vehicles from the Star Wars epics. Fandom at its quirkiest.
posted by me3dia at 1:35 PM PST - 10 comments

European Copyrights

European music copyrights from the '50s due to expire this year, and to grossly oversimplify things, RIAA is on the warpath, saying that imports from there would be acts of piracy. Considering that there's a gold mine's worth of material begging to be shown the light again (the Maria Callas material mentioned in the article, for example), no doubt there will be some great releases...but will EMI's actions be more the exception than the rule? (NYT link, yadayada)
posted by PeteyStock at 12:14 PM PST - 17 comments

Net tech saving the world

Lee Felsenstein, saving the world with wifi and a bike. This old school computer hacker built a human powered wireless internet station named as one of the best inventions of 2002. Now he needs to raise $25,000 to wire five villages of farmers to the web (to obtain weather info, pricing data) and to each other. This is another story that reminds me not all of this technology is for gadget geeks. It really can help improve peoples' lives, as shown by the varied projects coming out of the Tech Museum grant winners and groups like this.
posted by mathowie at 9:53 AM PST - 43 comments

Iraq

Kick his ass and get the gas. Three anti-war activists[Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali and Gilbert Achcar] discuss the current focus on war with Iraq on Turkish TV. Here is an alternative URL, just in case there are problems with OutlookIndia. P.S.: "Kick his ass and get the gas" was apparently a bumper sticker issued by the Republican party in California.
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy at 9:18 AM PST - 20 comments

sick of rat beach? join al queda.

sick of rat beach? join al queda it does'nt get a lot better than this - is this guy the next john walker lindh ?
posted by specialk420 at 8:54 AM PST - 18 comments

The best week to listen to the radio this year.

The best week to listen to the radio this year. For six days, an alternative radio station plays the 2003 most requested songs in their 13-year history.
Listen* to an eclectic, no-repeat marathon of music from acts like:
They Might Be Giants, Radiohead, Pere Ubu, Elvis Costello, Bowie, U2, Bob Mould, Chris Whitley, The Dream Warriors, Guided by Voices, The Ass Ponies, Prince, Social D, Texas, PIL, Royal Crescent Mob, The Specials, Patti Smith, The Pixies, The Pogues,The Beastie Boys, Gorillaz, Frank Black, Pete Yorn, Scapegoat Wax, and Weezer.
*Windows Media Format. I've tried the stream on both Mac and Windows. The stream provider asks for email, age, gender, and zip code and plays 2 minutes of commercials at the beginning of the stream, but that's a small price for 150 hours of music.
posted by putzface_dickman at 8:20 AM PST - 45 comments

Jack Chick weighs in on September 11th.

If you're already familiar with the work of Jack Chick, the creator of those amusingly offensive evangelist comic books, you probably know not to take him too seriously -- after all, the threat of being thrown into a giant lake of fire by an angel isn't particularly frightening. Still, when his new tract starts with an image of the smoldering twin towers, and ends with the words, "Bob, now I know that Allah doesn't really love me or even care about any Muslim. But Jesus, the Son of God, does," it's difficult not to worry that this time he's bitten off more than he can chew.
posted by tweebiscuit at 7:49 AM PST - 33 comments

Project: Shutterbug

Project: Shutterbug. Taking pictures of tourists taking pictures. It's a small collection right now, but maybe you can help it grow. From the Hungover Gourmet.
posted by staggernation at 7:06 AM PST - 13 comments

Visualizations

Visualizations for spiritual and prayer work. Begin your year with one of these intriguing "visualizations." You know: stuff like the supreme court, Mr. Cheney, and kids whacked out on drugs and the rock music. My first visualization is that these poor children escape the luxurious beard into which they've been vignetted.
posted by merlinmann at 12:56 AM PST - 23 comments

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