October 4, 2016

"Respice post te. Hominem te memento."

In Ancient Rome, memento mori was a Latin expression meaning "remember that you have to die," originating from a traditional means of keeping generals humble. In art, a memento mori is "an object kept as a reminder of the inevitability of death, such as a skull." In the United Kingdom, Memento Mori is a shop which specializes in objects and antiques which are macabre in nature. (Instagram) (Facebook)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:00 PM PST - 36 comments

The Mighty Barribal

A classic Dutch comic from the 1960s is being published in a local New Jersey newspaper. 'Tales from the life of Olivier B. Bomble, gentleman,’ was serialized in Dutch newspapers for many years, and Squire Bomble, his good friend Ocelot and many others have become household names in the Netherlands. [more inside]
posted by joost de vries at 5:38 PM PST - 13 comments

Send in your seconds, see if they can set the record straight

With 35 days to go until the election, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence square off in the vice presidential debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. Print out your Bingo cards and tune into any major network or listen on NPR. Alternately, watch on one of YouTube's channels (NBC, PBS, Fox News, the Washington Post). Twitter will stream Bloomberg. Facebook has ABC and PBS. C-SPAN has its own feed. You can even watch in virtual reality (Gear, Rift, or Vive) via AltspaceVR. [more inside]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:25 PM PST - 4052 comments

"Bear spray doesn't always work."

"Legs are good. Internal organs are good. Eyes are good. I just walked out three miles, now I gotta go to the hospital." Man finds bear and two cubs - or bears find man - in Montana. So of course he [warning, blood, gore] films a reaction video.
posted by Evilspork at 4:28 PM PST - 48 comments

6 Gifs of Amazing Buster Keaton Stunts

It is exactly what the title says it is. In a bizarre coincidence, the day this meta was posted would have been Buster Keatons 121st birthday. [via Reddit]
posted by marienbad at 4:19 PM PST - 19 comments

Step away from the fuzzy caterpillar

Eight of the cutest toxic caterpillars [more inside]
posted by isthmus at 4:11 PM PST - 7 comments

Hey, that's the O'Nedders

20 years ago today, a little band from Erie, PA took the world by polite shrug in Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do. [more inside]
posted by Senor Cardgage at 3:26 PM PST - 57 comments

Yahoo secretly monitored email for US government

Yahoo last year secretly built a custom software program to search all of its customers’ incoming emails for specific information provided by US intelligence officials, sources have told Reuters. The company complied with a classified US government directive, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency (NSA) or FBI, said two former employees and a third person who knew about the programme. [more inside]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:22 PM PST - 52 comments

"TV is all made up anyway. Why not join the fun? "

Rachel Brewson, Dating Editor, has written for xoJane and Thought Catalog, loves craft beer, the beach, and warm LA nights, and does not exist. The team of men behind Rachel Brewson, the fake woman whose breakup went viral.
posted by Artw at 2:12 PM PST - 19 comments

Get Jesus on that credit card!

At the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida, Jesus is crucified most afternoons around 5 p.m. On the day I visited last fall, things were humming along right on time, if remarkably quickly. Six minutes after the redeemer’s bloodied corpse was carried into the tomb, a shout—“I am alive!”—proclaimed his return. A gold-spangled, virile-looking Jesus emerged from a cloud of smoke to announce that the sick shall be healed, and then kicked off a Hallelujah dance party.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:04 PM PST - 66 comments

The Ballad of Balloon Boy

Seven years ago, an incredibly stupid mystery captivated CNN. Today, thanks to cable news, Balloon Boys are everywhere. [more inside]
posted by poffin boffin at 10:55 AM PST - 69 comments

“It’s nothing personal,” she says. “I just find him annoying.”

Jeff Pearlman: Why You Really Hate Tom Brady
posted by colt45 at 10:40 AM PST - 55 comments

That’s Damn Good Pepsi Blue! And Hot!

Playing Lynch is “a collaborative meditation on the work of David Lynch”.
Practically, it’s a site hosted by Square Space that lets you buy an album of David Lynch soundtrack covers with a donation to the David Lynch foundation
Best-of-the-web-ly, it's a collection of David Lynch scenes where said music was employed, with the signal characters reenacted by John Malkovich. [more inside]
posted by Going To Maine at 10:14 AM PST - 10 comments

Quit Baseball In 2001, Get Paid Until 2035

Tomorrow night, the Mets face off against the Giants in Major League Baseball's NL Wild Card Game. $1.19 million of the $135 million Mets payroll will be watching from afar. This is not because the player is injured or didn't make the roster. It's because he's 53 years old and hasn't played baseball in 15 years. The Mets will continue to pay Bobby Bonilla $1.19 million each year until 2035, thanks to one of the strangest contracts in sports history. (538Video). [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:57 AM PST - 25 comments

Provoke Joy

Solange Knowles (previously) released her new album A Seat At The Table (narrated by Master P(!)) last week, along with a book of poetry, and photographs, two in-depth interviews (with Tavi Gevinson at W Magazine and Fader), a moderated conversation between her and her mother released on her website Saint Heron, and two music videos, "Cranes in the Sky" and "Don't Touch My Hair".
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:54 AM PST - 6 comments

Congestion in London redux

As the capital’s traffic slows below pre-Congestion Charge speeds, difficult decisions loom. (via @felixsalmon ) [more inside]
posted by hawthorne at 7:07 AM PST - 95 comments

"So we made it out of plywood"

The hardest part of writing a show in the '80s isn't getting music clearance or convincing actors to get those haircuts -- it's finding the right tech (or at least, making it look right). [more inside]
posted by Etrigan at 6:50 AM PST - 69 comments

Power of tower

Building human towers in Spain - Every year in Spain, a Catalan tradition of building Castells—human towers reaching up to 10 stories—takes place. [more inside]
posted by a lungful of dragon at 6:49 AM PST - 24 comments

I Want Willy. W-I-L-L-Y

Presented without ambient sound, the video plays out against a slow, deliberate marimba-based soundtrack. The Duke of Cambridge can be seen forming a large soap bubble. Princess Charlotte pets a rabbit. And Prince George, bubble-gun in hand, stalks the party with his now famous look of toddler-y disinterest. Canada just funded a strange, grey-toned video thanking itself.
posted by mannequito at 12:42 AM PST - 30 comments

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