MetaFilter

So long, and thanks for all the thrills. This weekend, Astroworld (I refuse to prepend "Six Flags") will close its doors. Envisioned in 1968 by Judge Roy Hofheinz (who also brought us Houstonians a major league baseball team, and a stadium in which they could play), the amusement park was where I spent a lot of my childhood in the 70s. Grass roots movements to save the park have failed, and thus it's time to say goodbye to the place that played host to one of the best rollercoasters in the world, a ride that scared the crap out of me, a double ferris wheel with a twist, as well as the Boogie Fog Disco, where I learned how to do The Hustle. All's not lost, as at least I can download the Texas Cyclone, but I still feel a little misty-eyed for the boy who spent most of his weekends in this magical and wondrous place. Farewell.
posted by WolfDaddy at 8:56 PM PST - 58 comments

Unraveling thread now reaches VP Cheney (NYTimes) and Reuters, (for those of you desiring a reputable news source.)
posted by spock at 8:55 PM PST - 132 comments

The machine that makes you a savant. (NY Times, No registration copy here) Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation sounds sketchy at first, but there is growing evidence this device developed for brain mapping can change and maybe even enhance mental functions, and may (or may not) be especially useful against depression. The results of the first major US trials will come out in 2006, as discussed in this MIT Tech Review article (PDF). Are you ready for one at home?
posted by blahblahblah at 7:19 PM PST - 43 comments

Rosa Parks, RIP
posted by amberglow at 7:05 PM PST - 194 comments

Ubisoft's demo of the new King Kong PC game comes with a lovely surprise: StarForce copy protection software. Starforce installs a device driver with no warning, and many users have complained that it causes system instability. It also appears totally contrary to the idea of allowing users to copy the demo between one another (effectively robbing Ubisoft of free advertising). As with any form of copy protection it appears StarForce is simply an annoyance to the casual user, while the dedicated pirates are well on their way to cracking it.
posted by pivotal at 6:06 PM PST - 38 comments

Transform New Orleans into the World's First Arcology? The good Doctress Neutopia has a new mission: New Orleans is to be rebuilt as Arcosanti writ large. Perhaps one of the remaining Monster Truck Neutopians will lend a backhoe? Get the FAQs and the counterFAQs on the inventor (back around 1994) of the world's first online religion, and join the lovolution! (and I can't believe DN has never appeared on MeFi before, but thus sayeth the Search)
posted by Creosote at 4:35 PM PST - 32 comments

White House orders The Onion to stop using Presidential Seal. Via The Trademark Blog. see also 18 USC §713
posted by anathema at 4:33 PM PST - 66 comments

CBC Radio - Canada's publicly-owned broadcaster, has some amazing websites devoted to Canadian musicans of all varieties. Check out NewMusicCanada for the main database of artist information and streaminig music (realplayer). For alternative tunes, check out the weekly podcast hosted by Grant Laurence at CBC Radio 3. Or, you may prefer Folk, World , or even Country music . Of course, being a bilingual country there's the francophone music site too. And finally, if you'd like to see some live Canadian music, you can check out CBC's Concert listings. Soon, check out CBC Radio 3 on Sirius Radio Canada!
posted by SSinVan at 3:48 PM PST - 17 comments

British Board of Film Classification - the BBFC is a non-governmental industry body responsible in the UK for rating films depending on their content. Their site provides listings of recent film and video classifications (even in RSS format!), along with guidelines for each classification possible. There's also an interactive children's version (with an article on how the last Harry Potter film was rated), and one aimed at students (with case studies regarding 'controversial' films such as A Clockwork Orange and Crash.

And they have their own private cinema...
posted by robzster1977 at 3:19 PM PST - 7 comments

British public information films. A couple of months back, there was a post about an online exhibition of British propaganda films from WWII. Now, the UK National Archives, who appear to be slowly working their way through the decades, have posted some public information films from the 40s and 50s. BBC News discusses the history of public information films, particularly the famous "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases" (available in Windows Media (sigh) here). My favourite is this optimistic look at how the new towns developed after the war were going to be just *great*. I grew up in a new town - Hemel Hempstead. Let's just say it didn't quite work out that way.
posted by athenian at 3:04 PM PST - 2 comments

Characterizing a Fogbank. A prominent analytic philosopher discusses whether postmodernism is worth taking seriously.
posted by painquale at 1:40 PM PST - 97 comments

noitulovE - Rewind the rhythm of life, find the purpose of evolution?
First link direct to Quicktime, second to lyrics, third to lauding press release
posted by nelleish at 1:35 PM PST - 18 comments

New startup Peerflix is starting to generate press attention as a clearinghouse for peer-to-peer DVD trades; it's being called "eBay meets Netflix". With an idea that obvious, you'd think someone would have thought of it before, and they had - it was called WebSwap, but it didn't last that long...
posted by runkelfinker at 11:46 AM PST - 25 comments

FBI Papers Indicate Intelligence Violations...Records turned over as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit also indicate that the FBI has investigated hundreds of potential violations related to its use of secret surveillance operations, which have been stepped up dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but are largely hidden from public view...
posted by Postroad at 11:43 AM PST - 14 comments

Take this opportunity to get involved. November 2nd - A day of protest With possible indictments of senior Bush aides this week Bush has to be feeling the pressure. Reports point to a down and disillusioned president.
posted by Chris_awesome at 11:02 AM PST - 73 comments

America is now $8 trillion dollars in debt. That's nearly $27,000 per citizen, or almost $61,000 per taxpayer. A little over three years ago the total stood at $6 trillion.
posted by justkevin at 11:00 AM PST - 86 comments

The White House nominates Ben Bernanke to replace Alan Greenspan. Works at Princenton, got his doctorate at MIT, currently has several economic related papers out. Apparently actually has a job relating to economics, and wants to drop dollar bills out of a helicopter Well, cut taxes if we enter a deflationary period -- which is just as sexy.
posted by geoff. at 10:14 AM PST - 58 comments

Wikipedia v. Encyclopædia Britannica. Wikipedia is a much loved resource on the internets, but often comes under criticism regarding its accuracy. In this article (The Faith-Based Encyclopedia) the criticism comes from a former Editor in Chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Turn about is fair play. Just the facts ma'am. [via Found on the Web]
posted by caddis at 8:41 AM PST - 77 comments

Were you left as ambivalent as I was by the introduction of the iPod Video? Did you think, "well, it's kinda cool, but why would anyone really want it?" Well, Mark Morford thinks he has the answer. [text-only, but may contain trace amounts of NSFW; via obscurestore]
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:57 AM PST - 37 comments

The debut album from Goblin Cock, titled Bagged and Boarded releases tomorrow. Goblin Cock is: Lord Phallus (aka Rob Crow of Pinback and Optiganally Yours), guitar and voice; Bane Ass-Pounder, guitar; King Sith, bass; Braindeath, drums; and Loki Sinjuggler, keyboards. [“Stumped”, mp3]
posted by ijoshua at 7:37 AM PST - 53 comments

Meet Anne Rice, Christian novelist.
posted by plexi at 7:37 AM PST - 68 comments

The Process Church of the Final Judgement, is quoted on two Funkadelic album covers. In his book The Family, Ed Sanders claimed that Charles Manson took his inspiration from The Process, leading to a lawsuit that resulted in the excision from subsequent editions of the material describing the cult's influence. Here is the redacted material. Whatever the truth about Manson and The Process Chuch, it was a time of cults.
posted by OmieWise at 7:29 AM PST - 11 comments