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The British Library has an unmatched collection of fine and historic bookbindings. Hundreds of western European bindings have been digitized and made available to the public. The Database of Bookbindings is a searchable, high resolution collection. Search by binder, ownership mark, country, material, and more. If you have the whole weekend free, you may find this glossary of binding terms a useful resource on your journey of discovery. If your interest is seriously peaked check out these bookbinding models used to exemplify and demonstrate the various mechanisms of books. For a more American experience of bookbindings, the Redwood Library has created this exhibit. Tomorrow our journey continues inside the books
posted by Grod at 11:49 PM PST - 4 comments

The new server's up and until MetaTalk comes back to life, I wanted to keep this post up to track bugs. If you find one, let me know here.
posted by mathowie at 11:28 PM PST - 54 comments

GMail not-so-safe Mail. So apparentley GMail has a major exploit that's been discovered by an Israeli hacker. "Using a hex-encoded XSS link, the victim's cookie file can be stolen by a hacker, who can later use it to identify himself to Gmail as the original owner of an email account, regardless of whether or not the password is subsequently changed." And so the fun with GMail begins..
posted by mrplab at 4:37 PM PST - 10 comments

Political Correctness: It's not just for Liberals anymore! To some people, it's scary. To others it's jokable. But all the stuff under the umbrella term "P.C.", makes some people think that American Liberals are more "puritanical and moralistic" than American Conservatives (especially if you're looking at it from outside).
But the Bush Administration has been seriously criticised for "pursuing a "Big-Gov Nanny State" (and by Fox!) and the White House Chief of Staff (a high-ranking position, you furriners) admits President Bush views America as a ''10-year-old child" in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent..
Elsewhere, there's that UK poll saying that most Brits support a 'nanny state'.
And Czech police 'registering' prostitutes are accused of moving from "nanny state" to "pimp state". Hmmm... Pimp State. At least the politicians would be better dressed.
posted by wendell at 3:14 PM PST - 6 comments

A Young Man's Guide to Masturbation

There's a good Q&A: "How can you tell if a girl likes you? Is it bad to stick your penis in the vacuum cleaner hose or that long thing you use to get in cracks and corners?" (age 13)
If she smiles at you, she probably likes you. And you already know the answer to your second question.

Mainly, the site wants you not to do it wrong. [Thank you Monkeyfilter]
posted by iffley at 2:56 PM PST - 32 comments

"I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."

Sooooo...Can I invoke Godwin's Law on reality?
posted by solistrato at 2:09 PM PST - 40 comments

He's back: Bin Laden has released a new tape, where he attacks Bush, claims responsibility for 9/11, backhandledly backs Kerry and warns Americans to take responsibility for safety to themselves. But is it all an elaborate double bluff to make sure Bush gets in (and OBL stays as safe as he is now)?
posted by bonaldi at 1:44 PM PST - 123 comments

Another Plastic God. A congregation, affixed and transfixed.
posted by four panels at 1:09 PM PST - 10 comments

Brain in a Dish Flies Plane. Hallowe'en-esque research conducted at the University of Florida.
posted by grabbingsand at 12:46 PM PST - 3 comments

What Is Conservatism and What Is Wrong with It?

Q: What is conservatism?
A: Conservatism is the domination of society by an aristocracy.

Q: What is wrong with conservatism?
A: Conservatism is incompatible with democracy, prosperity, and civilization in general. It is a destructive system of inequality and prejudice that is founded on deception and has no place in the modern world.

via Three Toed Sloth..
posted by y2karl at 12:36 PM PST - 29 comments

Tiny Pinocchio -- the world's (former) smallest living dog! Buy the CD!
posted by me3dia at 12:28 PM PST - 14 comments

Daily Jolt's Fantabulous Foolishest Face Fest Finalists and Winners: Heh. Roffle. Lol. Rofl. Kek. No Ma'am.
posted by naxosaxur at 11:56 AM PST - 2 comments

Do tax dollars fund censorship? Not the only example. When businesses get incentives from government, does this constitute endorsement? How constitutional is it?
posted by ewkpates at 10:43 AM PST - 7 comments

were they drunken accidents or a series of murders? the wisconsin town of la crosse is shocked by a series of drownings ... sinister speculations and recriminations fuel the controversy
posted by pyramid termite at 10:09 AM PST - 4 comments

The 20th Anniversary Edition of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text adventure is online, and the BBC has jazzed it up. A bit.
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:52 AM PST - 8 comments

Rolling Stone review Spacewar. Ready or not, computers are coming to the people. That's good news, maybe the best since psychedelics. via Ludology
posted by ZippityBuddha at 8:53 AM PST - 13 comments

Cultural Revolution When Nike founder Phil Knight first traveled to China in 1980, before Beijing could even ship to U.S. ports, the country was just emerging from the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. By the mid-'80s, Knight had moved much of his production to China from South Korea and Taiwan. But he saw China as more than a workshop. "There are 2 billion feet out there," former Nike executives recall his saying. "Go get them!". The Chinese responded (the goal was "to hook kids into Nike early and hold them for life"): sales through the 1990s picked up 60% a year. Here's how Phil Knight did it. Print page for main link here
posted by matteo at 7:42 AM PST - 8 comments

What do you get when you cross Big Urban Games (see also here) with semacodes? I'm not sure, but it seems to look like this. (via gizmodo)
posted by gwint at 6:46 AM PST - 3 comments

Download Fahrenheit 9/11 Here This guy wants you to see the Moore film and is willing to suffer a possible lawsuit in order to get it to you. Free. "I'll see how my bandwidth holds up. Here is the initial release of my posting of Fahrenheit 9/11. It's big. Its 650 megs. So - if you are on a slow connection - don't even bother. Go rent the DVD. But if you have DSL or better - here it is."
posted by Postroad at 6:33 AM PST - 24 comments

A series of books published in the early 1900s in the United States dictated several topics that children should be able to recognize and provide discourse. Among those available for reading online are Birds Every Child Should Know ("Two close relatives there are which, like the poor, are always with us-the crow and the blue jay."), Heroes Every Child Should Know ("To be some kind of a hero has been the ambition of spirited boys from the beginning of history; and if you want to know what the men and women of a country care for most, you must study their heroes."), and Pictures Every Child Should Know ("The true art-lover has a catholic taste, is interested in all forms of art; but he finds beauty where it truly exists and does not allow the nightmare of imagination to mislead him.").
posted by keli at 6:15 AM PST - 16 comments

An highly quantitative approach to state by state poll analysis. This is a meta-analysis directed at the question of who would win the Electoral College if the election were held today. Meta-analysis provides more objectivity and precision than looking at one or a few polls, and in the case of election prediction gives a more accurate current snapshot. Backup site here. These calculations are based on all available state polls, with an emphasis on likely voter data that include Nader where he is on the ballot. Three or more recent polls (up to seven days old) for each state are averaged and the standard error of the mean is used to calculate the probability of every combination of possible state results. The map is not identical to the median. Results are defined as not statistically significant (n.s.) if the probability is less than between 5% and 95%. The effects of turnout are not included, but can be calculated using the bias analysis.
posted by psmealey at 3:49 AM PST - 28 comments

Don't be a Scaredy Cat! Help Garfield find his Halloween treats. [Flash]
posted by page404 at 3:22 AM PST - 9 comments

Filtering hasn't worked in Iran, they now arrest web journalists: Several online journalists have been arrested, raising fears of a government crackdown on Internet dissidents. (Christian Science Monitor)
posted by hoder at 12:52 AM PST - 2 comments