October 30, 2011

Challenging ALL MeFites

Could you pass a US citizenship test? 96 Questions [more inside]
posted by TangerineGurl at 10:17 PM PST - 163 comments

Eulogy For Steve Jobs

The New York Times have published the eulogy Mona Simpson delivered for her brother Steve Jobs at his funeral, which includes his last words. Now it you'll excuse me, I think I have something in my eye...
posted by Effigy2000 at 9:51 PM PST - 101 comments

Hey Pinky, What Do You See?

David Lynch's debut album, Crazy Clown Time, is streaming in its entirety on NPR first listen until November 8th. That is all.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:39 PM PST - 29 comments

New! And Improved! Buy Now! Half off! Limited time offer! Fortified with 11 vitamins and minerals!

Melt your brain into goo on an overdose of crass 80s consumerism and TV without the TV shows at 80sCommercialVault. Superbowl 19 commercials. Commercials from Jaws. Saturday morning commercials. Daytime / evening commercials. [more inside]
posted by loquacious at 9:38 PM PST - 11 comments

Have a Who Hallowe'en

Released today: The cast and crew of Doctor Who (Tennant era) lip-dub to The Proclaimers song "I Wanna Be (500 miles)". You will never be sad again. Also released today: John Barrowman, Catherine Tate, and David Tennant thank Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner for a great run on Doctor Who....in song.
posted by Phire at 9:33 PM PST - 111 comments

A China Skeptic

There is this perception that the only China skeptics are foreigners. Let me tell you that is completely wrong. The debate within China is much more interesting and much more ferocious than the debate outside of China about problems with the growth model. Michael Pettis is a professor at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, where he specializes in Chinese financial markets. Here he talks about China's economic prospects.
posted by storybored at 8:59 PM PST - 25 comments

The hyper-realistic FPS game simulator

The Gadget Show has created a hyper-realistic FPS game simulator using tons of custom hardware and software, and recently released Battlefield 3.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 8:51 PM PST - 36 comments

Myra Hindley

My purpose here has been to inquire into mediated understandings of Hindley, and to question how popular texts delineate between the deeds of a human being and the way those deeds are culturally inscribed. The task is neither conclusive nor complete, for monsters are illusive. There is always some part of them that evades both enunciation and comprehension.
posted by Trurl at 7:05 PM PST - 15 comments

In Memory of Chinatown Fair Arcade (1958-2011)

"Rather than adopting the popular perspective on gaming as a way of escaping life, engaging in violence or being antisocial, the film focuses on the gamers’ pure joy in their hard-sought achievements, the thrill of high-level competition, the significance it gives their lives, and the communities they create." Jon Rafman's (previously, and previously) Codes of Honor. Text and Video. [more inside]
posted by codacorolla at 6:48 PM PST - 8 comments

Streisand on the Judy Garland Show

The Judy Garland Show, 1963: Barbara Streisand sings Rodgers and Hart's Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
posted by beisny at 6:37 PM PST - 9 comments

No one would have believed in the middle of the 20th Century that human affairs were being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than Man's...

The making of George Pal's War of the Worlds
posted by Artw at 4:20 PM PST - 26 comments

Reservoir ball pit

For millennia, man has yearned to block the sun (with black plastic balls). If an un-covered public water reservoir contains bromide, sunlight will combine the bromide with the chlorine used for reducing bacteria -- thus poisoning the water with carcinogenic bromate. Blocking the sunlight is the answer, but building a permanent cover for a huge reservoir is very costly. The solution for LA-area reservoirs, a few years ago: cover the entire water surface with millions of floating "bird balls", in effect turning the reservoir into a 10+ acre ball pit. [more inside]
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:10 PM PST - 48 comments

Pray for us, we need it.

There was Planking, and before that there was something else (you fill in the blank), well now let me introduce you to the latest internet meme, Tebowing
posted by Eekacat at 3:06 PM PST - 87 comments

Haunted by the sound of one foot tapping

An excerpt from bODY_rEMIX/ gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS by Sadler's Wells - London Dance House (NSFW, very small nipple tassels & illusion of nudity) [more inside]
posted by Blasdelb at 2:44 PM PST - 23 comments

Try putting a lightbulb in a glass of milk

Microwhat is a website where people microwave stuff, just to see what it looks like after 60 seconds on setting 9. [warning: blinky]
posted by mippy at 2:20 PM PST - 33 comments

Pandit Chitresh Das and the Art of Kathak

Pandit Chitresh Das is a renowned performer of Kathak, one of the classical dances of India. His company's YouTube channel features some striking examples of his work and that of his students: 1 2 3. (Uploads from other users include 1 2 3.) In recent years, he has collaborated with tap dancers like Jason Samuels Smith and Chloe Arnold on India Jazz Suites and India Jazz Progressions.
posted by thomas j wise at 12:17 PM PST - 2 comments

Organic Materials and Esthetic Shapes

Cedric Laquieze is a sculptor specializing in unusual creatures like fairy flowers and goddesses made from organic materials.
posted by netbros at 11:48 AM PST - 6 comments

Synecdoche, Kharkov

The Movie Set That Ate Itself. Five years ago, a relatively unknown (and unhinged) director began one of the wildest experiments in film history. Armed with total creative control, he invaded a Ukrainian city, marshaled a cast of thousands and thousands, and constructed a totalitarian society in which the cameras are always rolling and the actors never go home.
posted by mykescipark at 11:47 AM PST - 53 comments

Layer displayer

Tilt is a Firefox add-on that lets you visualize a web page's DOM (document object model) in 3D. In effect, you can see all the layers in a web page stacked upon each other with this. [more inside]
posted by ignignokt at 11:39 AM PST - 54 comments

Have New Yorkers have always been rude?

New Yorkers have always been seen as fast-talking and rude. [NYTimes] [more inside]
posted by exphysicist345 at 10:37 AM PST - 91 comments

Government surveillance changes in India

Research In Motion has established a surveillance facility in India following a authorities applying pressure. Google, Skype, Twitter and Facebook are also under pressure to provide greater surveillance assistance. [more inside]
posted by jeffburdges at 10:31 AM PST - 26 comments

WAN WAN

Wanwanlink weaves together a sequence of motion in realtime, using fragments of archival footages that are being collected daily. When a human figure appears on the screen, the sound is deliberately distorted into a slow 'wan wan.' This project, with a theme linking to classification and dependency, shall continue to be developed for a very long time. (Footages featured on this website belong to the public domain. Clips were downloaded from http://www.archive.org/).
posted by bonsai forest at 9:30 AM PST - 15 comments

"What are you doing outside there?"

COSBY NIGHTMAREZ [SLYT] David Lynch-esque Cosby Show mashup.
posted by Fizz at 9:01 AM PST - 6 comments

Look out for the burgeoning Indian metal scene

Disappointed Indian thrashers riot due to last minute cancellation by Metallica [more inside]
posted by Renoroc at 7:49 AM PST - 46 comments

Hello Lovers!

People from Portland OR will already know about the majesty of Roger Nusic. Besides putting ketchup on salads and wearing a gold cape and shorts when he performs, he also writes some good jams. Hey Playa, Welcome 2 the Roger Nusic Arousal center - U can Laugh, Sing, Dance & pray 2 the Lord Jesus, Holla! Some Roger Nusic jams: CAN I COME IN AND SEE YOU? WHAT IS THE NAME?
posted by josher71 at 5:57 AM PST - 7 comments

"Wanna be a member, wanna be a member?"

Bimbo the Dog never had it easy. First, he was forcefully initiated into a sadistic, subterranean, won't-take-no-for an-answer, candle-headed cabal. Then he was punched in the face by his own creation (among others), and summarily run out of town, where he was taunted by tombstones and other undead entities. *all YouTube links* [more inside]
posted by obscurator at 1:28 AM PST - 8 comments

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