MetaFilter

The New York Times is previewing their latest technology in the longform journalism piece Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek (username: avalanche/password: preview). Scroll down slowly to enjoy all the photos, slideshows, and movies that go along with the piece, which looks to be adding new chapters to the story over time.
posted by mathowie at 9:49 PM PST - 47 comments

The NYT Book Review just named it one of the 5 best fiction books of the year. The AV Club helpfully posted a video to show you what happens when you open it. Actually, lots of folks posted videos to show you what happens when you open it. Other folks raved in print about the author and his career. The Comics Journal asked a dozen critics of the author's work to send in reviews; this one focuses on the role of disability in the narrative. This one notes the book "is in a very primary sense a comic about women and the private lives they lead, and it investigates more fully than any other comic I have ever read the way they age, fall in love, explore their sexuality, come to terms with compromises they’ve had to make as they’ve grown, accept their limitations, confront squandered ability, have children (or choose not to have children), marry (or stay single), and make sense of the world around them." You might find Chris Ware's Building Stories worth a look or two. Or fourteen. [more inside]
posted by mediareport at 9:35 PM PST - 28 comments

Coming Out to My Child
posted by cthuljew at 8:06 PM PST - 22 comments

Year-End Lists: 2012 Albums | 2012 Songs | 2012 Movies | 2012 Books [more inside]
posted by carsonb at 7:56 PM PST - 63 comments

100 Riffs (A Brief History of Rock N' Roll). A continuous stream of popular guitar riffs in a single take, sync'ed to tablature. Made with soundslice.
posted by stp123 at 7:30 PM PST - 29 comments

In this interview with Collectors Weekly, opium antiques expert Steven Martin talks about How Collecting Opium Antiques Turned Me Into an Opium Addict.
posted by naturalog at 7:20 PM PST - 41 comments

Are you a spiritual wanker?
posted by msalt at 7:09 PM PST - 59 comments

Welcome to Pyongyang! "Koryo Tours commissioned a DPRK (North Korea) gaming company to develop a racing game that lets you drive around Pyongyang in a locally made Pyonghwa Motors vehicle, see some of the sites and compete for a good race time! Collect fuel along the way, avoid the attentions of Pyongyang's traffic ladies, and try not to crash into any of the local cars, or the DHL vans! This unique game is currently online exclusively on Koryo Tours' website (do note that it may take some time to load properly - so do stay patient before starting)." [more inside]
posted by condesita at 5:38 PM PST - 36 comments

Did U.S. General David Petraeus grant friends access to top secret files?

"Petraeus was forced out of the CIA in part because his mistress read sensitive documents. Now it is alleged he granted two friends astonishing access to top secret files as he ran the Afghan surge. In a painstaking investigation, Rajiv Chandrasekaran reveals how the volunteers won big donations from defence firms – and how they pushed the army towards a far more aggressive strategy."

posted by ericb at 5:12 PM PST - 41 comments

The 25 funniest AutoCorrects of 2012, from Damn You, AutoCorrect (previously)
posted by Clustercuss at 4:02 PM PST - 115 comments

BLDGBLOG has a new Books Received post about the latest books to cross their desk. Previously
posted by Cloud King at 2:56 PM PST - 2 comments

From the Summit in the Houston Astrodome, October 31, 1976:
Bootsy Collins - Ah... The name is Bootsy baby/Disco to go
Bootsy Collins - Psychoticbumpschool
Bootsy Collins - Another Point of View
Back in the day: James Brown & Bobby Byrd (on bass, Bootsy Collins) - Sex Machine & Soul Power
See also: Booty's Basic Funk Formula
Bootsy Lecture on the One: James Brown vs. Parliament [more inside]
posted by y2karl at 2:21 PM PST - 27 comments

Hammerpoint Interactive released its new MMO The War Z on Steam yesterday. It has not been a good launch. [more inside]
posted by boo_radley at 1:29 PM PST - 126 comments

A frog in the milk bucket keeps the fungus away?
posted by curious nu at 1:14 PM PST - 32 comments

Youtube user CHDanhauser, who has a long-maintained website devoted to Star Trek: The Animated Series, has begun posting self-created fan episodes of the show, apparently providing all the v/o solo. AND LET THE HEAVENS FALL Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 PTOLEMY WEPT Part 1 Part 2 Mr. Danhauser also hosts a range of genuine vintage 1970s animated trailers and bumpers as well as some he has crafted himself on his youtube channel. Bonus rerun: MEFi's oown ChurchHatesTucker's genius eponymous No Kill I video.
posted by mwhybark at 12:14 PM PST - 24 comments

The master map of all game companies and their connections
posted by infini at 12:08 PM PST - 28 comments

It is common behavior for humans to develop an avatar to present a larger-than-life version of themselves on the web, often as a defense mechanism. For the first time, this activity has been observed in another species.
posted by oulipian at 11:53 AM PST - 48 comments

John Fahey at The New Varsity 10/11/1981:
On The Sunny Side Of The Ocean/Spanish Two-Step
Lion
Steamboat Gwine 'Round De Bend [more inside]
posted by OmieWise at 11:38 AM PST - 7 comments

This past August, producer Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men) launched a new digital series: H+. The premise: in the near future, 33% of humanity has retired their smartphones, tablets and computers in favor of an implanted computer system, H+, which connects them directly to the internet 24/7. The story begins as a computer virus attacks the implants, killing billions. In intersecting storylines across four continents (told in part through flashbacks,) the series then unravels what happened, who caused it and why. [more inside]
posted by zarq at 11:00 AM PST - 66 comments

It's not a bag, it's a coat. Tired of extra airline fees even for carry-on luggage? The Jaktogo is a bag that tuns into a... stylish coat.
posted by GuyZero at 10:37 AM PST - 83 comments

(SLYT) Not your average flashmob.
posted by Aizkolari at 10:36 AM PST - 30 comments

IT'S FUN TO USE LEARNING FOR EVIL: 4 million hotel rooms around the world using Onity brand computerized locks can be unlocked with a device built into the case of a magic marker.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:31 AM PST - 56 comments

A 22-year old student, Imogen Hedges of London's Kingston University, has invented an unknitting machine to ravel knitted items and wind the yarn into skeins for re-use. I do have my doubts about how much time this machine would actually save, but the machine, which is made out of a bicycle, is a very clever contraption and a lot of fun to watch in action, and its facility for steaming the yarn as it winds it is ingenius.
posted by orange swan at 10:14 AM PST - 29 comments

Actor and writer James Urbaniak (Venture Brothers, American Splendor) has a wry, occasionally upsetting "fictional podcast" with every episode written by a new author. Getting On With James Urbaniak.
posted by The Whelk at 9:57 AM PST - 23 comments

All the Whos Down in Whoville are Aliens

But just what are the Whos down in Whoville? Are they human? What is the Grinch? What’s the connection between these Whos and the Whos living on the speck-of-dust planet in Horton Hears a Who!? Are those Whos who Horton heard the same species of Whos of which Cyndi Lou Who (who was not more than two) is a member?

Related: Is Whoville located on a Who Planet? Previously on the Blue: The Grinch.
posted by asnider at 9:06 AM PST - 43 comments

Phil Plait presents the Best Astronomy Images of 2012. Plait and Bad Astronomy previously.
posted by davidjmcgee at 8:43 AM PST - 15 comments

In May 16, 1961, Park Chung-hee ended the Second Republic of South Korea by military coup. On December 18, 2012, his daughter, Park Geun-hye, became South Korea's president by democratic election under the Saenuri party against human rights lawyer Moon Jae-in, of the DUP. [more inside]
posted by curuinor at 8:26 AM PST - 33 comments

"So his view of what’s going on on this island is his own view, and you happen to be looking through his eyes, so you’re seeing his view." Video game writer Jeffrey Yohalem defends Far Cry 3, his most recent work. [more inside]
posted by Tevin at 8:12 AM PST - 87 comments

ShortList has been reviewing British high-end (gourmet) burgers for the last few months. [more inside]
posted by Wordshore at 8:06 AM PST - 37 comments

Gigapixel image of the Khumbu Glacier and Mount Everest Taken by filmmaker David Breashears this is a gigapixel image of Everest (the mainly rock peak to the left of centre) and surrounding area taken in Spring 2012. To get an idea of the scale Everest basecamp can be seen in the bottom-centre area of the image. Best viewed fullscreen.
posted by jontyjago at 7:55 AM PST - 32 comments

"I was sitting with some friends in Woodstock when a telephone call was forwarded to me from someone who claimed to be from NASA, and who wanted to use a piece of my music to contact extraterrestrial life. I said, 'C'mon, if you're for real you better send the request to me through the mail on official NASA letterhead!'"

Laurie Spiegel is a composer and a humanist software developer. [more inside]
posted by obscurator at 7:46 AM PST - 10 comments

Kayden Kross writes, at length, about opposing Measure B and making a DMV-style sex test. Both SFW.
James Deen makes the world's most expensive burrito and is also a food critic. NSFW banners.
Kayden Kross shares a funny moment in a porn script and a funny text conversation with a porn star. NSFW text.
James Deen got a "shit head kitten". NSFW banners, still.
Kayden Kross dresses up her fleshlight like David Foster Wallace and like a hot dog. NSFW fleshlights.
James Deen waxes nostalgia for Nine Inch Nails and the era when people listened to albums, not songs. Banners still NSFW.
Kayden Kross shares pictures of her horse and pictures of herself buying her horse's love. Also stories about riding her horse. Also pics of her bunny. All SFW.
James Deen has a crush on Lexi and Stoya and Daisy and Stoya and Maddy and Stoya and occasionally he writes them haiku. Blatantly NSFW the lot of them. Plus banners.
posted by Rory Marinich at 7:37 AM PST - 46 comments

"10 Words You Literally Didn’t Know You Were Getting Wrong" [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:25 AM PST - 154 comments

Come out as gay with George Takei (SLYT)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:52 AM PST - 27 comments

Rock Cellar Magazine has come up with a list of eleven songs to listen to in case the world comes to an end on December 21 2010. [more inside]
posted by Sailormom at 4:12 AM PST - 44 comments

Every year the British Medical Journal publishes a special Christmas edition.

• Why Rudolph’s nose is red: observational study
• The tooth fairy and malpractice
• Pain over speed bumps in diagnosis of acute appendicitis: diagnostic accuracy study
• Nutritional content of supermarket ready meals and recipes by television chefs in the United Kingdom: cross sectional study
• Case report of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
• Using a dog’s superior olfactory sensitivity to identify Clostridium difficile in stools and patients: proof of principle study
• Mortality in former Olympic athletes: retrospective cohort analysis
• A shaggy dog story

[more inside]
posted by alby at 3:59 AM PST - 16 comments

Hacker sets up SiriProxy and a Raspberry Pi-controlled relay to make his iPhone's Siri voice control open his garage door
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:30 AM PST - 21 comments

Google underwater
posted by twoleftfeet at 1:45 AM PST - 20 comments

Is Science Fiction promoting pseuodoscience? Is it not really better than fantasy? Is it exhausted and dying, per Paul Kincaid (part 1, part 2), a sort of genre-writing version of completing a list of The Nine Billion Names of God? Does physics-bothering unrepentant space case Alistair Reynolds have a compass pointing the way forwards?
posted by Artw at 12:14 AM PST - 84 comments