December 18, 2012

nice try, birdie

Golden eagle snatches kid. (Warning: slow motion section features inexplicable music choice.)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:28 PM PST - 333 comments

Baby Brosteps Towards The Elevator

"This year, two monumental genres with decidedly global pedigrees arrived on our shores and attempted to crack the American pop code, with one enjoying far more decisive success than the other...One of those is definitely sexier and zeitgeistier than the other, but that doesn't always result in sustained cultural relevance."
K-Pop, EDM, and Baby Brosteps Toward a More Global Pop Landscape
posted by mannequito at 7:50 PM PST - 33 comments

Cabbit

I hope you can meet me on the hill in an hour. (SLV)
posted by Pants! at 7:08 PM PST - 5 comments

Now THAT'S a Crossover

Anne Hathaway and Samuel Jackson compare notes.
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:58 PM PST - 43 comments

Because one cigarette paper costs six copper pennies?

Why Are People Hoarding Coins?
posted by telstar at 6:55 PM PST - 86 comments

dun-dun-dun-DUN-dun-dun

The X-Men animated series opening sequence redone in stop-motion (SLYT).
posted by griphus at 6:47 PM PST - 28 comments

Reporter Joel Sappell returns to a former story

Decades after he wrote an investigative series on Scientology, the writer examines just what happened. From the piece: "In the mid-1980s, journalist Joel Sappell and a colleague began a five-year examination of the Church of Scientology that would ultimately produce a 24-article series. It would also change Sappell’s life in ways both mystifying  and unnerving." Links to the 24 stories he and his partner wrote for the LA Times.
posted by Ideefixe at 5:35 PM PST - 24 comments

Not a fair cop

Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative Party's former Chief Whip, resigned his position last September after he allegedly called police officers "f–cking plebs", [previously] although he has consistently denied this. New video evidence indicates that the leaked police logs of the incident were false and that a serving police officer may have been involved in a conspiracy to unseat a Cabinet Minister. [more inside]
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:05 PM PST - 52 comments

A Bizarre Collection of Antiques and Curios

Richard Wright & Pink Floyd - Keyboard, synthesizer & electronics equipment [pdf]. A comprehensive, detailed and readable analysis of the keyboards, synthesizers and assorted electronics used by Rick Wright, the other members of Pink Floyd and assorted studio and live accomplices. [more inside]
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 4:57 PM PST - 20 comments

Nonvoters in America

In 2012, 40 percent of Americans didn’t vote. The research on this website is an attempt to determine why so many citizens opt out of this fundamental civic duty, using extensive survey research as well as interviews with nonvoters to give a voice to those who are often ignored or marginalized by politicians and the news media. [via this phys.org article that provides a nice summary]
posted by cthuljew at 4:38 PM PST - 64 comments

The story behind Fairytale of New York

The tale of Fairytale of New York: the story behind the Pogues' classic Christmas anthem (SL Guardian)
posted by apricot at 3:58 PM PST - 42 comments

Nothing You Can Sing That Can't Be Sung...

SLYT: The New York Times released a video today of an incident from September 10th: Preacher Terry Jones was in Times Square, staging a one-man anti-Muslim demonstration, and a Beatles fan who was passing by chose to weigh in.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:15 PM PST - 69 comments

I don't understand how they're letting me do this show

Louis C.K. interviewed by James Poniewozik about his work on the hit show Louie (YT, 54 minutes). Recorded at The Paley Center for Media in New York City.
posted by joedan at 2:37 PM PST - 13 comments

PTS Discussion

The newest segment in the Charlie Rose Brain Series, addressing Post-Traumatic Stress (SL Video) [more inside]
posted by beisny at 11:43 AM PST - 6 comments

...and they were separated.

Eleanor Davis watched some friends skin a roadkill'd fox, and illustrated the process.
posted by curious nu at 11:23 AM PST - 27 comments

He'll sit 'em on his knee and teach 'em to bleed... you of all last year's savings.

In 1965 (or 1966, or...1964, depending on your source), three northeast garage rock bands came together to create the definitive early garage rock Christmas Album that time has since forgotten. Merry Christmas from The Sonics, The (Fabulous) Wailers, and The Galaxies features everything from Bob Dylan sound-alikes, fantastic originals, sincere classics... and weird goof-arounds. [more inside]
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 11:13 AM PST - 12 comments

The Bribery Aisle

How Wal-Mart Used Payoffs to Get Its Way in Mexico (slnyt) [more inside]
posted by elizardbits at 11:09 AM PST - 36 comments

Frost Flowers

Frost Flowers: "...they are made of such thin sheets of ice, they will melt away as the sun rises higher in the sky. You may get frost flowers again the following day, but unless the conditions are just right the chances are your first glimpse may be your last."
posted by OmieWise at 11:08 AM PST - 30 comments

Shirley Temple Three

“What I’m about to show you,” he says, “you can’t tell a soul about it. If you did, it would be major trouble. Trouble with a capital ‘T.’ ” He sips his drink and tugs the quilt away.

Mawmaw takes a step back. She’s looking at some kind of elephant. With hair.

“Don’t worry. She’s not dangerous,” Tommy says. “Bread Island Dwarf Mammoth. The last wild one lived about ten thousand years ago. They’re the smallest mammoths that ever existed. Cute, isn’t she?”

The mammoth is waist high, with a pelt of dirty-blond fur that hangs in tangled draggles to the dirt. Its tusks, white and pristine, curve out and up. The forehead is high and knobby and covered in a darker fur. The trunk probes the ground for God-knows-what and then curls back into itself like a jelly roll.

“What’s a goshdern Bread Island Dwarf Whatever doing in my yard?” Mawmaw asks.
Shirley Temple Three by Thomas Pierce
posted by y2karl at 11:02 AM PST - 17 comments

많이 드세요

Learn how to cook Korean food with Aeri Lee and Maangchi. [more inside]
posted by zarq at 10:38 AM PST - 26 comments

Check out my space station crib

Astronaut, and Expedition 33 Commander, Sunita Williams gives a tour of the International Space Station.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:34 AM PST - 27 comments

So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis do a tiny desk concert at NPR. (Includes Same Love, posted previously.)
posted by anotherpanacea at 10:28 AM PST - 18 comments

Hockey Heroes for Equality

Torontoist has named their 2012 Advocacy heroes, including Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke for his work supporting GLBT rights in memory of his son Brendan (Previously) and the AHL's Toronto Marlies, the first professional sports team to pledge their support for teammates, coaches, and fans of all orientations.
posted by BZArcher at 10:25 AM PST - 6 comments

The correct quote is “Hell is other people,” not “Hell is other people at breakfast.”

The best (and worst) media errors and corrections of 2012.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:42 AM PST - 39 comments

A tax time bomb, slowly ticking away

Income based repayment is touted as a solution to rapidly rising college costs in the US. But there is a hefty tax bill looming for people who take advantage of this program.
posted by reenum at 7:37 AM PST - 134 comments

"Paintings created by performing routine tasks on multi-touch hand held computing devices."

The Winning Swipe For Every Level Of Angry Birds [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:03 AM PST - 52 comments

2012: A Jam Odyssey

Jam Odyssey is a holiday hack brought to you by This Is My Jam. It generates an automated megamix of any user's last year of jams. [more inside]
posted by mkb at 6:57 AM PST - 34 comments

Johnno was a punk when we were all in our dads' bollocks

He’s got a shaved head, piercings, tattoos, love of punk rock – and a pension book. Leicester’s oldest punk is a familiar sight in the city centre. His incredible story, however, is less well known. [more inside]
posted by Mezentian at 3:01 AM PST - 52 comments

To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions...

On December 5th, Instagram's founder Kevin Systrom announced that Instagram would cut support for Twitter cards. On December 10th, Twitter updated its mobile apps to include Instagram-like photo filters. On December 12th, Flickr did too. On December 16th, the New York Times reported that Systrom may have perjured himself during the process of selling Instagram to Facebook. On December 17th, Instagram updated its terms of use to announce, among other changes, that its users now
"agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you."
In response, Wired has posted How to Download Your Instagram Photos and Kill Your Account. Previously.
posted by davidjmcgee at 1:39 AM PST - 195 comments

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