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Tail Fins Rising aka 'Our father who art in styling... Harley be thy Name!'
posted by y2karl at 9:58 PM PST - 19 comments

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed - H. L. Mencken (Still, if I were you, I'd ditch my copy of Blue Lagoon . . .)
posted by Crotalus at 7:46 PM PST - 40 comments

April may be the cruelest month, but November is rough on turkeys. Perhaps coincidally, it's also National Novel Writing Month, as you may recall.
posted by owhydididoit at 7:35 PM PST - 29 comments

Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift is the Navy lawyer who took the case of defending Salim Ahmed Hamdan (aka Osama bin Laden's driver). A quick plea-bargain was expected, but Swift managed to get his client a hearing before the Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. While a complicated and nuanced decision, most would agree that "Swift, one of five judge advocate general lawyers assigned to represent the first round of commission defendants, determinedly stepped through this looking glass, defying skepticism at home and abroad that he and his colleagues would do more than a perfunctory job." However, despite all of his efforts and obvious legal abilities, he was recently passed over for promotion and effectively fired under the military's "up or out" promotion system. (Previously: [1] [2] [3])
posted by bardic at 6:27 PM PST - 30 comments

"They say, 'get bent,' we say, 'let's fight!'" A protest at Columbia University and Minutemen (NYT link) are forced off stage.
posted by Smedleyman at 5:01 PM PST - 192 comments

Underground Wonderland The RISD Museum is hosting a retrospective of Providence's DIY marketing approach to underground shows. The exhibit, with every wall plastered from floor to ceiling, feels like a time-capsule. Fort Thunder and its associated bands has been mentioned here on the blue before, but the sense of community that comes through, and which still runs through Providence's subcultures thanks to individuals like Ryan Lesser and his "Lots of Noise" site deserves yet another post. Be sure to check out the Lots of Noise image and photo gallery for more fun stuff. (No direct links, sorry!)
posted by stagewhisper at 2:53 PM PST - 8 comments

Google buys YouTube. $1.65 billion dollars is enough for Google to buy the number one video streaming site on the net.
posted by andreaazure at 1:46 PM PST - 118 comments

The Boneyard at the Neon Museum (Google Map view from above) is where old Vegas casino signs go to die; while the sign graveyard is only open by appointment, a virtual tour courtesy of these Flickr sets is the next best thing to a visit in person for fans of decaying gaudiness & faded glamour.
posted by jonson at 1:44 PM PST - 7 comments

Nihongo Bongo! - Latin music by Japanese artists from the 40s, 50s and 60s. "Mambo, rumba, cha cha cha, bossa nova, calypso, you name it... it was big in Japan. The exodus of Japanese migrants to Brazil ensured a lasting connection with South American culture as many Japanese artists toured Brazil."
posted by carter at 1:40 PM PST - 14 comments

Bitflicks : very large and accurate representations of video games made out of Lego blocks.
posted by boo_radley at 1:03 PM PST - 10 comments

"None suspect that idealistic committed little folk-singer Bob Dylan is in fact the amazing Zimmerman -- faster than a proxy ballot, more powerful than an ulterior motive, and able to buy tall buildings with a single bond!" [More inside]
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:20 AM PST - 45 comments

Kitty litter was invented in 1946. Birds were the first pets to have their own full lines of products. Canned dog food first appeared in the 1910s. Lots of interesting stuff [wav] at the University of South Carolina's Pets in America site.
posted by mediareport at 9:20 AM PST - 18 comments

It’s NYC’s 4th Annual Architecture Week! These seven days included a weekend of free exhibitions: Five boroughs of interesting locations to see! Download MP3’s of "podcast tours" for selected sites. Missed it? Don’t worry, you can catch up.
posted by bodega at 8:22 AM PST - 4 comments

My parents are dead! Scott Kurtz of PvP brings us "a sprawling epic that examines the deep inner psyche of Batman." In six pages. No apologies to Frank Miller.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:59 AM PST - 94 comments

Grow Tribute. Leaning Tower of People. Tunnel Rush.
posted by empath at 7:37 AM PST - 12 comments

Art is power. Two of London's biggest names in art just went head to head. Yesterday the Serpentine Gallery opened an exhibition by new Chinese artists in Battersea Power Station, allowing the public to see inside the city's greatest piece of abandoned architecture for the first time. Not to be outdone the Tate Modern, the other London art gallery built in an abandoned power station, hits back with its new interactive exhibit tomorrow.
posted by Hogshead at 7:16 AM PST - 15 comments

ABC Australia reports on plagiarism of Wikipedia by traditional media.
posted by jedro at 5:05 AM PST - 39 comments

The Incredible Mouth Band is the product of an idea. The idea was simple: Instead of people actually playing their instruments, why don't they just say their names out loud, to the rhythm of the music?

note: The organist tends to get a lil' creepy. Do not watch late at night if that kind of thing bothers you.
posted by alon at 4:10 AM PST - 14 comments