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The Museum of Jurassic Technology contains strange exhibits that test one's sense of authenticity. It has been the subject of a radio documentary and a book.
posted by juv3nal at 11:59 PM PST - 12 comments

USS Rainbow Trek - combining everyone's two favorite memes, homosexuality and Star Trek: Hi Folks, I'm Captain Leather Menace. I'd like to tell you a little about the USS Rainbow Trek. In reality we are a group of *Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Straight folks with open minds, Transgendered people, Intersexed people, and people who are Questioning their sexual preference or identity. We are also Star Trek fans who believe that Gene Roddenberry's dream of Inifinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations included "US" too. (safe for work)
posted by RylandDotNet at 9:52 PM PST - 28 comments

Into the Garden of Good and Evil - Muhammad Iqbal's "THE DEVELOPMENT OF METAPHYSICS IN PERSIA" (first published in 1908 and free online courtesy the Bahai's): "The most remarkable feature of the character of the Persian people is their love of Metaphysical speculation." Strong, bipolar Good vs. Evil distinctions, and the notion of a cosmic struggle between the two, seem to have originated in ancient Persia as Persian Dualism. See Manicheanism here, here (warning-spurious windows), and here. Special bonus - Freepers fulminate over a German theologian's exegesis of Manichean american political rhetoric!
posted by troutfishing at 8:37 PM PST - 14 comments

Heart surgery in our family has triggered something of a crisis of fitness with everyone vowing to loose weight. Ironically its the runner in the family that has suggested the most sensible solution: buy a pedometer and increase the number of steps per day you walk to 10,000. (Although some say to just increase.) The idea supposedly started in Japan. The idea is to add a bit of activity here and there (the first site recommends going to a restroom on a different floor) rather than trying to lump the 30 minutes per day all ot once. So far with a desk-potato lifestyle 3,000 is easy but adding the extra few miles every day will require some extra work. Less social than a Volksmarch but compatable with a mall walk. And definitely less hazardous than freestyle walking.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 7:32 PM PST - 24 comments

When U.S. Foreign Policy Meets Biblical Prophecy "Does the Bible foretell regime change in Iraq? Did God establish Israel's boundaries millennia ago? Is the United Nations a forerunner of a satanic world order? For millions of Americans, the answer to all those questions is a resounding yes" "Leaders have always invoked God's blessing on their wars, and, in this respect, the Bush administration is simply carrying on a familiar tradition."
posted by thedailygrowl at 7:27 PM PST - 10 comments

In 1969, Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" will be published on DVD. December 31, 1969 to be exact. If you don't believe me, check here too. apparently, 1969 was a good year, because it was also back then that Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" was released. Oh, and if you want to read a copy of "Montenegro: The Bradt Travel Guide," by Annalisa Rellie, you'll just have to wait. It won't be available until December 31, 1969. Other titles to be released on December 31, 1969 include "Giant," these movies and these books. Now all I need is a time machine!
posted by grumblebee at 5:54 PM PST - 14 comments

How to Speak and Write Postmodern. Here is an etymology of the word postmodern--it begins with Walter Toynbee. Who'd athunk? All of this comes from Contemporary Philosophy, Critical Theory and Postmodern Thought . The names lead not to essays but thorough links pages, like Ludwig Wittgenstein or Edmund Husserl. All the usual suspects are here--your Adorno, Baudrillard and the infamous Frankfurt School. *spooky ghost voice* Whoo-oo-oo! */spooky ghost voice* Well, there is Edward Said, but that one confuses me--I mean I read Edmund Husserl, and he, sir, is no Edmund Husserl. He actually makes sense. Which is more than I can say for Edmund Husserl. And it's all one huge page so you can scroll on down. Even I can do that. Hope I didn't brain my damage! To trump the smarty-pants who's going to link the Postmodernism Generator, I'm upping the ante--here's your Postmodern Mr. T.
                                                             Hey man, This time we're gonna do it my way!
posted by y2karl at 4:48 PM PST - 39 comments

This is a friend of a friend. Jon and Heidi Connal traveled around the world from June 2001 to Oct 2002. They included all of their experiences in a journal on their website. Jon Andrew Connal ran a marathon almost every month. Then he got sick and started throwing up blood for no apparent reason. The doctor thought it might be some sort of pneumonia. He was a very healthy man but for no apparent reason he suddenly died 3 days later. It's a sad story about wonderful people.
posted by suprfli at 4:28 PM PST - 3 comments

Those crazy scientists have discovered a gene that determines how sensitive somebody is to pain. The gene comes in two forms, and you get one from each parent, so a quarter of the people end up tough, half end up in the middle, and the other quarter comprise of wusses. Interesting stuff.
posted by zeoslap at 2:23 PM PST - 14 comments

Friday Flash Fun!!! A little present from me to all of you who can't stand work anymore. I for one have never felt so alive. You may be confused by this simulation, so here's an informative Instruction Diagram to get you up to speed. While you're being driven to pure ecstacy, be sure to check out the remarkable History and Gallery of this God-Given Device, at the remarkable Early Office Museum.
posted by Stan Chin at 1:34 PM PST - 10 comments

Personal Computing Environments - Herman Miller, eat your heart out. Personal Computing Environments has what has to be the strangest piece of office furniture ever made. There's no denying the interesting and unique design, but with prices ranging from $4,000 to $9,000 and up and the economy in somewhat dire straits, is there a market for this? I mean, I could almost buy a couple of these for that kind of dough.
posted by phong3d at 12:41 PM PST - 30 comments

GoogObits I have always had a fascination with the obituaries page and dead pools. I have hosted a small dead pool for friends for the past few years and have collected obituaries of famous and sent them out as email salvos to friends. But this is an inspiration to us all. The joy of google, the fascination with the obit. Enjoy the dead.
posted by majikwah at 10:49 AM PST - 3 comments

"The Story About The Baby" - this consistently funny and entertaining website is well suited to anyone who has ever thought about having kids, has kids or anyone else. An endearing yet fantastically cynical take on the first year of raising a child has just wrapped up and in its completion is a great antidote to the overbearing cutesy-wootsy baby web pages that proliferate the internet. With entry titles such as: The Unbearable Grossness of Being, Dawn of the Neglectomatic and The Use Of Skinnerian Conditioning To Mold My Child's Brain, well how could you go wrong?
posted by BrodieShadeTree at 10:46 AM PST - 34 comments

Give It Up For The Axis Of Evil Tour Ahmed Ahmed travels a lot. Just the other day, says the heavily bearded Egyptian, he was at the airport. An older couple waiting for a flight came over and asked him where he was headed. "I told them, 'I have a one-way ticket to Paradise,' " he says. Pause for laughter. Yup, he says, airports are tough for him right now. They are for everyone, he adds. Nobody likes having to get there an extra hour early or being delayed by all the extra security. But just to make sure, he says, "I get there a month and a half early."
posted by turbanhead at 10:28 AM PST - 18 comments

The tiny island nation of Nauru (pop 12,329) once had one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world. Recently, though, the "poor little rich kid of the Pacific" has dissolved into political chaos. In an address three weeks ago, just before the country's telecommunications network collapsed, President Bernard Dowiyogo said, “You are all aware and conscious of our critical situation.” Since then – silence. (via boingboing)
posted by gottabefunky at 9:56 AM PST - 28 comments

Los Diablos Guapos! the world's finest no-holds-barred, full-contact, anything-goes bowling team. check the archives for proof!
posted by Peter H at 9:42 AM PST - 6 comments

Next week's 'Ed' is devoted to lucid dreaming - "ED CONTROLS HIS OWN DREAM," blares the show synopsis. While TV and dreaming usually lead to simple silliness, this episode could be a watershed moment in pop-culture awareness of lucid dreaming, which has a fascinating history and continues to be controversial. [much more inside]
posted by soyjoy at 9:42 AM PST - 42 comments

University City, Missouri stands up against homeland security and gets reprimanded by a U.S. Attorney. A resolution passed by the city council to protect citizens' rights from being violated by city employees, including police, "puts all citizens at risk" and could result in "catastrophic loss of life," according to U.S. Attorney Ray Gruender.
posted by zsazsa at 9:38 AM PST - 4 comments

Once Upon A Time In Malaysia I’ve seen lion dances performed before but never anything like this. (windows media)
posted by snez at 9:25 AM PST - 8 comments

Toke off Hoser! If it was just a bunch of hippie pinkos, no one would care. But when 69% of the Canadian public at large would prefer relaxed marijuana laws, maybe something might actually happen. And it's not like the government has studied this and suggested the same thing...oh wait, they did.
posted by CrazyJub at 9:03 AM PST - 17 comments

Prepare yourself for terrorist season. The "Department of scaring the hell out of folks" thinks "every American should prepare themselves for a terrorist attack" the way Floridians prepare for hurricane season; as something inevitable and imminent. Oh yeah, and in the event of a nuclear blast, close the door.
posted by answergrape at 8:56 AM PST - 18 comments

Hollywood isn't out of ideas, they're just tucked away. Enjoy. Quicktime required. [via The Presurfer]
posted by pedantic at 8:47 AM PST - 11 comments

When the CIA Comes and Asks What You've Read In reaction to the Patriot Act, a Montpelier, VT bookstore has purged all customer purchase records so that it would be impossible to comply with the government's demands to see such records. Co-owner Michael Katzenberg told the Associated Press, "When the CIA comes and asks what you've read because they're suspicious of you, we can't tell them because we don't have it. We may have lost our marketing potential by doing this, but at the moment that's the price we have to pay to safeguard people's privacy." Much more information on the "resistance movement," including how to start your own grass-roots campaign, from the Bill of Rights Defense Committee FightBack. Also, what's going on with the people who lend 'em, not sell 'em, the American Library Association: ALAPatriots.
posted by NorthernLite at 8:07 AM PST - 27 comments

Staten Island oil and gas facility on fire...
The BBC reports that a massive explosion has struck an oil and gas facility on Staten Island, on the outskirts of New York City.
posted by tomcosgrave at 7:54 AM PST - 31 comments

Friday Flash! Actually, it's a movie, but it sure is hilarious... Bush + Blair = LUV
posted by sparky at 7:42 AM PST - 8 comments

So just how many protesters WERE there at the anti-war demonstration? Throughout history organizers give a higher turnout estimate and police give a lower one. The San Francisco Chronicle hired an independent third party to take aerial photos and estimate the number of demonstrators last Sunday, and the results show a crowd count much lower than what either the organizers OR the police had estimated. In Washington, DC, as USA Today notes, the Park Service "counted crowds for decades until 1995, when Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan threatened to sue after Park Police estimated attendance at the Million Man March at 400,000." Is having an accurate count a good thing? Will anyone care?
posted by twsf at 7:25 AM PST - 51 comments

The War Behind Closed Doors PBS' newest "Frontline" focuses on what has been happening behind the scenes within the Bush administration during the buildup to war against Iraq. Wolfowitz is seen as supporting a policy of US preemptive wars starting in 1992 and urging a US invasion of Iraq just four days after 9/11, Richard Perle says that "it was understood that Iraq had to be dealt with" in the earliest days of the Bush presidential campaign, and Colin Powell is shown as the only reason the US sought UN approval at all.
posted by insomnia_lj at 6:51 AM PST - 17 comments

A toaster with a PC in it
Via b3ta
posted by Mwongozi at 6:03 AM PST - 17 comments

Wheaton College (IL) Lifts Dance Ban. The small evangelical Christian liberal arts college in the suburbs of Chicago, lifted its 143-year-old ban that prohibited students from participating in "most forms of social dancing." In its place, the college has established a community covenant that permits dancing by students, but still prohibits the use of tobacco, the consumption of alcohol, and pre-marital sex by students. It does allow faculty and staff to drink and smoke (which had previously been prohibited) but never in front of students. Wheaton grads include Rev. Billy Graham, Wes Craven, Rep. Dennis Hastert, Todd Beamer, and Bush speechwriter Mike Gerson.
posted by marcusb at 5:16 AM PST - 23 comments

Same Difference, Derek Kirk Kim's great online comic has come to it's conclusion. For Kim it's been "2 years. 79 pages. 9 pens. 2 countries. 3 computers. 4 residences. 6 conventions. 725 lonely nights." But for us it's been nothing less than the slow episodic revelation of an amazing talent. I love his elegant line and the depth of his characters. It's funny as hell, but touching enough to make you cry.
posted by gametone at 2:49 AM PST - 24 comments

Following yesterdays papers planes, how about playing the classic Gridlock, some 3D Pong, Reflections or a horribly addictive game based on Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars. Much work will late today I feel...
posted by twine42 at 2:47 AM PST - 12 comments

Take this life and shove it: So goodbye then, Johnny PayCheck. Even the very British and conservative Daily Telegraph honoured you today with an affectionate obituary [Reg. required: full text inside.] I wonder how many unrepentant rebel-singin', cocaine-sniffin', bar-brawlin', hard-drinkin', good-lovin', corn-munchin' musicians there are left. And whether any of the young 'uns today will be able to keep up, livin' the life, as long as you did. Even though you too eventually succumbed to preaching against drink and drugs. I suspect most of the new generation will become health freaks by the time they hit forty and that you, Sir, were one of a dying breed.
posted by Carlos Quevedo at 1:44 AM PST - 1 comments