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ASCII art of 12 April 1888. A map of Michigan's dry counties. "We found this part troublesome enough to set, and if any printer thinks it a simple job, he may try it for two or three days."
posted by jjray at 9:45 PM PST - 28 comments

science! cookies: Atom | Periodic Table | Petri Dish | Gel Electrophoresis | Lab Mice | Cephalopod | Gingerbread Scientists (via)
posted by Anonymous at 8:30 PM PST - 18 comments

"Men working on the river would move in time to the beat of the music. It was everywhere: on the street, in the church. In the tonks and barrelhouses where people went to be together. Like the beating of a big heart. It gave everyone a good feeling." The Cradle is Rocking is a delightful 12-minute film that, though somewhat damaged (Folkstreams has found what may be the only surviving print), is highly recommended viewing for anyone interested in American roots music: in this case, New Orleans jazz. The film's thoughtful and affable narrator is trumpeter George "Kid Sheik" Cola, who can be heard along with Captain John Handy serving up some fine old-school Dixieland jazz here and here.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:08 PM PST - 13 comments

Famous Monsters of Filmland, the legendary genre magazine edited by the late Forrest J Ackerman (previously), will be resurrected by comic publisher IDW.
posted by brundlefly at 5:22 PM PST - 19 comments

Harmonic Visualization Bob Jones is finally making more musics. Here are some of his latest work. Make sure to look at the Harmonic Visualization before (and durning) listening to the piece. It really allows for a richer experience.
posted by Olive Oil at 5:06 PM PST - 9 comments

In 1975 and again in 1984-1992 Dr. Demento was distributed on LP vinyl records. There was a history of distributing shows on transcription discs, but this and other shows are now found all over the internet along with other forms of "bootlegs" thanks to digital recording and LP record players co-existing. [more inside]
posted by morganw at 4:25 PM PST - 14 comments

The Roches on the Today Show, Christmas 1990. Joy To The World::Angels We Have Heard On High::God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen::The First Nöel::Adeste Fidelis::Hallelujah Chorus Saturday Night Live '79
posted by vronsky at 4:11 PM PST - 35 comments

Radovan Karadzic was a war criminal who was able to escape prosecution for his war crimes during the genocide in Bosnia. In a particularly strange twist, Karadzic assumed the name Dragan Dabic and rose in the ranks of the alternative healing community in Belgrade. [more inside]
posted by reenum at 3:04 PM PST - 20 comments

The Noughtie List. A meta-list of "best of" lists for the 2000s decade. A similar meta-list for best of 2009.
posted by stbalbach at 2:12 PM PST - 59 comments

The public's opinion of the field of climatology has been shaken by the leaked CRU emails. While it's arguable that the messages show any wrongdoing, many pundits have now reached the conclusion that global warming is a hoax, coverup and conspiracy, years in the making with millions of faked datapoints. Sarah Palin has written an editorial saying Obama should boycott the Copenhagen COP15 summit.
posted by mccarty.tim at 1:07 PM PST - 270 comments

WE GOT THAT B ROLL
posted by stresstwig at 1:02 PM PST - 50 comments

Piracy of PC games is nothing new, and has been discussed previously. Due to the high levels of PC game piracy, some development companies have decreased (or eliminated) PC game development, shifting support to console development. But piracy isn't limited to PCs, as modchips and other hacks have allowed users to play pirated and homebrewed games. In the continuing struggle for control, Microsoft banned as many as 1 million modded systems from Xbox Live, resulting in a surge of people reselling Xbox 360s that have been banned from online play (and modders finding a fix for the ban). Some developers have adopted another tactic - increased development of downloadable content (DLC), which has been seen as both good and bad by gamers. John Riccitiello, the head of Electronic Arts, seems to have embraced DLC as a marketing option, in noting that "[people] can steal the disc, but they can't steal the DLC."
posted by filthy light thief at 12:51 PM PST - 77 comments

Last night, northern Norway was treated to a bizarre, spiral-shaped show of light. [more photos, Norwegian] [more inside]
posted by dunkadunc at 12:48 PM PST - 75 comments

Help: I want to say something to someone • I am worried about my penis size • I am not funny • I am addicted to the internet • I'm involved in a long distance relationship • I'm racist • I'm not familiar with Alessandro Moreschi • I am being followed by a dog.
posted by ocherdraco at 11:59 AM PST - 45 comments

From 1929 to 1931, MGM produced a series of short comedic films that featured an all-dog cast. Ladies and Gentlemen, The All-Barkie Dogville Comedies. The Big Dog House, Part 1 The Big Dog House, Part 2 [more inside]
posted by louche mustachio at 11:55 AM PST - 10 comments

I had this concept--after a strange dream, while scoping out the I Dreamed I Saw st. Augustine tab in my just-in-case-it-disappears downloaded dylanchords, of ...St. Augustine as a slow moody slide in Open D ala Blind Texas Marlin. But then I got to wondering whether someone might have a chord dictionary online where a few variations on a first position B Minor in Open D might be found. Voila! Achtung, Baby! Behold Brian's huge chordlist collection. Oh, man, he's got your standard and open tunings on guitar plus mandolin, uke, banjos, bouzouki, pipa and lute. A living room guitarist's must have, no doubt, although a few more open tunings for pipa would have been nice... [more inside]
posted by y2karl at 11:50 AM PST - 6 comments

Eight Ways In-Vitro Meat Will Change Our Lives
posted by jason's_planet at 10:58 AM PST - 117 comments

Batman is confused
posted by philip-random at 9:29 AM PST - 199 comments

The TSA has accidentally posted their SOP online. Not having learned proper redaction techniques after dozens of other companies and government agencies made the same mistake, the TSA posted their complete "Screening Management Standard Operating Procedures" manual online in PDF format. [more inside]
posted by pla at 9:17 AM PST - 132 comments

"Gripped by war, poverty and plague, the villagers of Oberammergau, in Bavaria, southern Germany vowed to put on a 'passion play' every ten years… That was back in 1633. They survived, and performed the first Oberammergau Passion Play in 1634. Ever since, their descendants have carried out that pledge. For the past four centuries the tradition has continued, every ten years. Only villagers have been allowed to take part. And that is what will happen yet again in 2010." [more inside]
posted by vacapinta at 6:53 AM PST - 25 comments

I'll Be Gone is the latest music video from Lithuanian cgi director/developer Rimantas Lukavicius of Korb.lt.
posted by netbros at 5:52 AM PST - 6 comments

Panic, makers of fine Macintosh software, commissions an illustrator to work with the concept "What if we were around in 1982, and our apps were early Atari 2600 games?" Awesomeness ensues.
posted by porn in the woods at 4:46 AM PST - 60 comments

Want to know what philosophers, those people you pay to think on your behalf, actually believe? David Chalmers and David Bourget recently canvassed several thousand professional philosophers for their views on a range of central philosophical issues. [more inside]
posted by leibniz at 4:39 AM PST - 115 comments

Mike Rowe gives a Ted Talk about an epiphany he experienced on Dirty Jobs and what he considers modern American society's war on work. [more inside]
posted by Turtles all the way down at 4:16 AM PST - 99 comments

A day with mental health professionals in North London - a Guardian article by Deborah Orr
posted by handee at 3:43 AM PST - 7 comments