December 17, 2008
This table is seriously lacking in James Bond.
In 300 B.C., years before the birth of black Jesus, Aristole postulated that all good things were made of "win." That was a pretty good guess, but he was drunk and probably also having an orgy. Modern day awesominers know there are actually 118 fundamental "awesoments" that compose all good things. The Periodic Table of Awesoments can be a very useful tool. It's designed to show the relationships between awesoments, and often one can even predict how awesoments interact simply by their positions on the table.
Boy in the Water
Boy in the Water ― The website of artist Miran Kim. Her art is characterized by an eerie, gruesome quality, which she achieves without the use of computer effects. [more inside]
Anthony Gatto
For this you die, hooman.
Japanese cat humiliation. SLYT
Get along, little...er, dolphie?
Dolphin Stampede. 58 seconds of unscripted, unexpected nature awesomeness. SLYT.
120,000 words
The year 2008 in photographs (boston.com, parts 2 & 3 coming tomorrow and the next day)
Meshes of the Afternoon
Meshes of the Afternoon, part 1 and part 2. The seminal 1943 avant-garde film by Maya Deren (previously on MetaFilter).
America's Pastor at the Inauguration
Gay marriage equals incest and pedophilia. Abortion equals the Holocaust. Or so thinks "America's Pastor Rick "Saddleback" Warren, bestselling author of The Purpose-Driven Life, vocal supporter of Proposition 8, and the spiritual leader chosen by President-elect Obama to give the invocation at his inauguration. But hey -- don't call him a homophobe: He even eats dinner with gays.
The Fortune
Sweden-born Yukimi Nagano has worked with José González, Koop several times and is now the lead singer of Little Dragon. When cornered to characterize Little Dragon's style, the answer was somehow "Disco Dub", though Yukimi herself is probably just better listened to than labeled. (Hover for descriptions) [more inside]
A cow costume never hurts.
The Smoking Gun's 2008 Mug Shots Of The Year. At long last our legal standards have been boiled down to "innocent until proven hilarious".
Entertaining the Masses.
In the last Depression, professional sports were a cheap source of entertainment. With today's contracts, can teams survive?
Face Off in Cleveland -- and Back on Again
Why is Cornell West being interviewed in a cab?
"Courage is the ennabling virtue for any philosopher," says Cornel West in this clip from The Examined Life, a film by Astra Taylor. Peter Singer talks about the morality of consumption and how we should spend our money, as he did in this NY Times Magazine essay published two years ago today. Given the internecine violence in the Congo, for example, Singer's 1971 essay, Famine, Affluence, and Morality is worth a second (or first) look. The film features several other contemporary philosophers, including Judith Butler, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Slavoj Zizek. Of course, people looking for a more musical version of philosophy, could forgo the film and just watch this Monty Python bit.
Weather Channel Music
Time for your local on the 8's -- and that brain-numbing music that accompanies it! The Weather Channel offers playlists and samples, but better yet, TWCClassics asks you to help "name that tune," offering mp3's of stumpers and identified tracks, along with random playlists dating back to 1986. (TWCClassics also has a YouTube channel. And, for those of you who just can't get enough Weather Channel Music, weatherchannelmusic.com is there for you. So sit back, and let the smooth music soothe or enrage you. [previously--thanks sourwookie!]
The timeless art of seduction
Some Paintings
Alex Kanevsky paints waves, portraits.
Of further interest, the progression of some of his paintings, and some amazing prints. Be aware, some of his paintings are nudes. [more inside]
Democracy in Action
LiveDosGames
LiveDosGames is a free, portable, fast Linux Operating System, which contains old, but legendary Dos games (and fits on a USB stick)
Islam and Evolution
Bracing for Islamic Creationism (PDF). "To avoid a vast rejection of evolution in the Muslim world, scientists can present the theory as the bedrock of biology and can stress its practical applications." [Via]
Dropbox
Olympic Crash
A tower on the Excalibur gondola at Blackcomb Mountain north of Vancouver collapsed yesterday. Early speculation centres around the possibility of the tower filling with water and freezing. The Excalibur gondola is built by the same company who recently finished constructing the record-breaking Peak2Peak gondola. This is not the first lift incident at the resort, which is set to host alpine events for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Beat the Grifters at their own game...
Handy Guides for how to win at rigged carnival games like the dime toss, the milk bottle toss. or even beat those claw on a crane machines. But what about matching wits with an online guess a number carny?
What is important to me.
What is important to me? Short video interviews with mostly alternative rock/pop folk, in which they answer the question 'What is really important to me'. For Elbow it's hope, Lambchop breakfast, Bob Mould turning life upside, New Model Army a sense of proportion, Nada Surf respect and caring, Sterolab hedonism, Calexico space...the rest are here..
Flight of the Conchords, Redux
The first episode of the new season of Flight of the Conchords is available to watch free online (US only, sorry). "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo," their first season was chock full of hilarious moments and musical interludes, including some drawn from their live performances. Previously on Metafilter.
1981
Playing For Kibble
Play Trivia to Help Save Abandoned Animals. Free Rice set the standard for on-line charity games and Free Poverty soon followed by donating water. Now you can play for free kibble to be donated to either Rocket Dog Rescue or The Urban Cat Project.
Name it and it will be yours
What's in a name? The Puritans and Victorians thought names could convey virtue onto whom they were bestowed; in Zimbabwe this is still a popular practise. Some names are thought to be 'high-end', some 'low-end' (even neighbourhoods) and our perceptions of what makes a good name changes in time. Meanwhile there are some human names that seem to suit dogs well.
Banking in Trust
Hawala or the Bank that Never Was.
Here's how it works.
However this honorable system has been hijacked by drug smugglers, terrorists, even Pirates; although there are problems.
Regulation has its drawbacks hurting some of the worlds poorer economies.
MI6 believes that terror organisations have used the global banking system to its advantage by investing Hawala money in stocks around the world.
Here's how it works.
However this honorable system has been hijacked by drug smugglers, terrorists, even Pirates; although there are problems.
Regulation has its drawbacks hurting some of the worlds poorer economies.
MI6 believes that terror organisations have used the global banking system to its advantage by investing Hawala money in stocks around the world.
My SUV seats two
Britney Spears loves Japan for its tiny cars. Tiny cars are huge in Japan. But Americans are not very big on very small cars. Nonetheless, automakers may bring tiny microcars to the U.S.. The trick will be making money on smaller cars. Small cars are nothing new, but soon they may be cool.
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