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Virgin Trains embarks on a new campaign. Richard Branson takes a new direction in getting people to think about global warming and using British rail. More here.
posted by parmanparman at 9:33 PM PST - 40 comments

Stem Cell Treatment in China. A site showcasing Beike Biotech, a company that seems to be getting more attention nowadays, with a very straightforward approach. Meanwhile, some recent hard science.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 9:22 PM PST - 14 comments

The Louie Report. From LLAMAS. The LOUIE LOUIE Advocacy and Music Appreciation Society (LLAMAS) was formed in early 2007 by a group of musicians, fans and collectors with a particular (and in some cases obsessive) interest in the song LOUIE LOUIE. Spawned from a film, the site's been going strong since 1996, with the blog sporting archives back to May 2005. [more inside]
posted by mwhybark at 9:00 PM PST - 9 comments

Thanatorama [flash] You died this morning. Are you interested in what comes next? Webdocumentaire.
posted by tellurian at 7:33 PM PST - 25 comments

Noel Black's first project after graduate film school at UCLA was writing and directing Skaterdater, a short subject cinematic romance without dialogue, which used only music and sound effects to advance its plot. It won nine international film awards. [more inside]
posted by snsranch at 5:24 PM PST - 11 comments

Why do we like, have to like, read so much in school? Why can't there be like, a library with only like, books with like, not a lot of pages? Lazy Library, for those with short attention spans, tight schedules, or a report due tomorrow.
posted by Rykey at 5:21 PM PST - 27 comments

Happy Movember everyone! Perhaps you celebrate No-Shave November instead. Either way, put down your razors and get fuzzy with the best! Once you have found your inspiration, pick up some beard care and learn the No-Shave November song. If you don't have what it takes to grow your own, there's always help. You didn't think I'd go through all this without posting a YouTube video right?
posted by idiotfactory at 3:14 PM PST - 49 comments

> The Business of Death (a short animation, somewhat reminicent of Edward Gorey, by Alejandro Cardenas). > The Business of Death (Time magazine, Sept. 28, 1936) > The Business of Death (This American Life, Apr. 18, 1997) > The Business of Death (Inc. magazine, Oct. 16, 2006)
posted by spock at 2:27 PM PST - 30 comments

Open Social API, coming soon (according to techcrunch) Google will be launching it's Open Social API, designed to allow inter operation between social networks. Social networks like orkut, linkedin, friendster, sixapart (livejournal and vox) and myspace will likely be using the technology. It's supposed to be announced today (at this URL, no less)
posted by delmoi at 2:03 PM PST - 27 comments

Gerbert D'Aurillac: mathemetician and engineer, Pope, ghost, and meddler with dark forces. [more inside]
posted by Iridic at 1:16 PM PST - 17 comments

Twitterku features haiku made out of public updates on Twitter. Sometimes they’re existential. Sometimes they’re vaguely dirty. Actually they’re mostly just existential and vaguely dirty.
posted by tepidmonkey at 12:43 PM PST - 46 comments

A small gallery of talking boards and planchettes by various artists. (Warning: navigation is somewhat clunky.) [more inside]
posted by oneirodynia at 11:36 AM PST - 2 comments

We'll Fight for Freedom, Wherever there's Trouble... CNN pundit Glenn Beck (as well as Canada's National Post] criticizes G.I. Joe, or more appropriately, the in-production live-action movie [IMDB] of the same name, and the manufacturer of the multi-generational toy-line, Hasbro. Beck cited the IMDB page, which stated that GIJOE was a "European-based military unit known as Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity (G.I.J.O.E.), a hi-tech, international force of special operatives, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer." He further added that the change amounted to JOE being ineffectual pansies, like the UN, and that "[He believes] some are trying to indoctrinate our kids into hating their own country, turning us into some one-world-government nightmare; hating America, turning it into a dirty word." [more inside]
posted by rzklkng at 11:27 AM PST - 103 comments

Theodore Gray's interactive periodic table isn't the only periodic table online -- another one was posted to MeFi last month -- but I think it's the most gorgeous, informative, and ambitious periodic table I've ever seen, featuring actual samples of most of the elements and their practical uses, a fascinating display of uranium isotopes, and explosive "sodium party" videos and more from Gray's many years of obsession with the elements.
posted by digaman at 11:26 AM PST - 14 comments

Aubrey de Grey may be wrong but, evidence suggests, he's not nuts. This is a no small assertion. De Grey argues that some people alive today will live in a robust and youthful fashion for 1,000 years.
posted by shotgunbooty at 10:56 AM PST - 82 comments

Photo gallery of houses in some pretty spectacular places. Some of these might be photoshopped (or not-- who knows...) but they're still pretty amazing to look at. [more inside]
posted by dersins at 10:31 AM PST - 45 comments

So, apparently some of those Sudanese orphans were neither Sudanese nor orphans. The organization Zoe's Ark may have fucked the fuck up.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:15 AM PST - 17 comments

Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr (1915-2007) The commander of the B-29 plane Enola Gay that dropped the first atomic bomb, on Hiroshima in Japan in World War II, has died at the age of 92. Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr died at his home in Columbus, Ohio. The five-ton "Little Boy" bomb was dropped on the morning of 6 August 1945, killing about 140,000 Japanese. Many others died later. On the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima, the surviving members of the Enola Gay crew said: "The use of the atomic weapon was a necessary moment in history. We have no regrets".
posted by psmealey at 10:15 AM PST - 115 comments

Politifact is brought to you by the St. Pete Times and the Congressional Quarterly (excellent domain name, btw!) to help you sift through all the bullshit that comes out of politicians' mouths. [more inside]
posted by taumeson at 8:34 AM PST - 15 comments

"The authorities not only discouraged Alex from pressing charges, he, his family and French diplomats say; they raised the possibility of charging him with criminal homosexual activity, and neglected for weeks to inform him or his parents that one of his attackers had tested H.I.V. positive while in prison four years earlier."(NYTimes)

Dubai upholds its inhuman tradition of neglecting, threatening, and even criminalizing victims of rape.
posted by hermitosis at 8:34 AM PST - 52 comments

People think working in television is glamorous, but is it really? Is it, really? Is it? Really? Charlie Brooker on making TV (Youtube, NSFW). Selected bite-sized chunks: filming, watching your ideas take shape, being the talent. [more inside]
posted by tiny crocodile at 8:16 AM PST - 28 comments

Most of us are sadly aware of the protests over the last few months by Buddhist Burmese monks. (previously 1, 2). To sustain themselves in the face of likely attack these monks have been chanting the Metta Sutta, the Buddha's teachings on compassion and loving kindness. The Metta Sutta is here in translation, some expositions (dharma talks) on the same subject: One by Sharon Salzberg who has done much to popularize metta in the west in the last 20 years, and a whole bunch from Dharma Seed, which makes buddhist teachings available on the web. You want to get in on the action? In the US you can try the Insight Meditation Society, which is based in Barre, Mass., but has lots of local branches. [more inside]
posted by shothotbot at 8:15 AM PST - 12 comments

Future Reading. Anthony Grafton explores what we can learn about the future of the text from the history of libraries, publishers, and the sorting of books. [more inside]
posted by Toekneesan at 7:46 AM PST - 8 comments

The Ultimate Entertainment Device And Practical Tool: The Toothpick
posted by Xurando at 7:14 AM PST - 30 comments

A day in the life of Abdullah Ibrahim, South-African composer and performer who creates hypnotic and softly singing grooves. To me, his recent piano trios are the highlights of his work, because they are both swinging and soulful. But his compositions do not sound bad in a big band setting -(or in an arrangement for guitar). His music is quiet and meditative but powerful, and has sometimes been used as a banner for freedom and equality. Now he likes to withdraw once in a while to the smallest scenes (french commentary with some english underneath), putting strong emphasis on necessary simplicity. Written portrait.
posted by nicolin at 6:26 AM PST - 5 comments

A rather interesting post WW II video of metallic sodium being disposed of in a lake. You might have seen this on a small scale back in high school chemistry class when the teacher put a tiny sliver of sodium in a bowl of water.
posted by polysigma at 6:00 AM PST - 47 comments

Today marks 90 years since one of the last successful cavalry charges of modern warfare - carried out by the Australian Light Horse. The charge was recently reenacted. [more inside]
posted by mattoxic at 5:17 AM PST - 15 comments

Love pancakes but can't be bothered to make them from scratch? Try aerosol pancakes! Organic Batter Blaster is all organic, low fat, and "amazing!"
posted by zardoz at 4:44 AM PST - 61 comments

World Passport Music – 75 hours of free world music in mp3/podcast format. Afrobeat, Cuban Diaspora, Haitian Kompa, Salsa, Highlife, Rumba Congolaise, Kinshasa-Nairobi Sounds, Afrijazz, Calypso, Hawaiian, American Jazz Roots, Yoruban Ejeki Jo... Let’s Dance!
posted by algreer at 4:16 AM PST - 23 comments

Brainbow. Using some very cool genetic tricks, Harvard scientists have found a way to make transgenic mice that express various mixtures of different coloured fluorescent proteins in their neurons. The result, individual brain cells with up to 90 distinct colours. Not surprisingly, this visually impressive work is in this month's issue of Nature.
posted by kisch mokusch at 3:09 AM PST - 19 comments

Online nerds have known for years that webcomics are often much more daring and interesting than newspaper tripe like Beetle Bailey and Hagar the Horrible. An unknown kid from Fresno by the name S. Sakurai has brightened many of our days with his frequently brilliant work. His ongoing strip Muertitos is a Beetlejuice-esque afterlife gem, and Gorgeous Princess Creamy-Beamy is mostly about skewering anime cliches, aliens, lesbians, and junk food. I was hooked as soon as one of his alien characters described our land vehicles as being "powered by exploding dinosaurs." Highly recommended for any Bloom County/Calvin and Hobbes fans, particularly those who grew up playing 8-bit Nintendo and watching Sailor Moon.
posted by ELF Radio at 12:41 AM PST - 53 comments