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"To someone my age (47) Keith Richards (67) in his memoir Life has a kind of rare healthy post-Empire geezer transparency. But for my younger friends, it’s no longer rare; it’s now just the norm. What does shame mean anymore? my friends in their 20s ask. Why in the hell did your boyfriend post a song called 'Suck My Ballz' on Facebook last night? my mom asks. But nothing yet compares to the transparency that Sheen has unleashed in the past two weeks—contempt about celebrity, his profession, the old Empire world order..." Bret Easton Ellis on Charlie Sheen and the worlds of pre- and post-"Empire," i.e., celebrity.
posted by bardic at 11:48 PM PST - 110 comments

Combining two of Metafilter's favorite topics, Scientific American has an edited excerpt from Modernist Cuisine on the arbitrary and political nature of food safety guidelines. Yes, AskMetafilter, you can (probably) eat that!
posted by rhiannonstone at 8:16 PM PST - 67 comments

Bicycle racing requires strategy and skill as well as strength and endurance to keep up pace with the peloton. This article from Cycling Tips breaks down basic techniques to gain and keep position in the pack.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:11 PM PST - 30 comments

"Word spread quickly. By the summer of 1960, NASA had over 240 blackstronauts. White NASA was beginning to take notice". The Old Negro Space Program (yt)
posted by dunkadunc at 6:51 PM PST - 66 comments

Hi Everyone!
We are tsukushi! nyoki nyoki!

We've been acting "nyoki nyoki please" on YouTube.
"nyoki nyoki" means Growing up!

We want to grow up the world for the peace!
"nyoki nyoki"& your smile is going to save the world!

[Instructions on how to properly execute the "Nyoki Nyoki Please"]
[Here are some responses]
[more inside]
posted by not_on_display at 6:44 PM PST - 29 comments

"At a hearing of the Lahore Sessions Court convened for security reasons at the Kot Lakhpat Jail today, CIA contractor Raymond A. Davis was arraigned on double homicide charges and then quickly acquitted and released. Attorneys for Davis and the victims' families announced that they had entered into an agreement in which Davis offered compensation to the families -- $1.4 million total -- and they forgave him." [more inside]
posted by vidur at 5:58 PM PST - 60 comments

Playbutton embeds albums in wearable button badges.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:41 PM PST - 57 comments

"Anybody else give up the use of their left side for Lent?" Carl Warmenhoven, the owner of a Seattle's Comedy Underground had a stroke -- and two weeks later does a stand-up routine about it. [SLYT, via SLOG]
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 5:11 PM PST - 14 comments

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as C3PO and R2D2
posted by empath at 3:10 PM PST - 59 comments

Cat Island is Safe, Needs Supplies The people of Cat Island have a long history with cats: [more inside]
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 3:10 PM PST - 34 comments

Out of Context Science. (SLTumblr)
posted by kmz at 3:04 PM PST - 14 comments

Public Job as Only Route to Middle Class. 'While that might not seem like much, jobs' 'with benefits and higher-than-minimum wages, are considered plum in' the town of Gallipolis a 'depressed corner of southern Ohio. Decades of industrial decline have eroded private-sector jobs here, leaving a thin crust of low-paying service work that makes public-sector jobs look great in comparison.''Now, as Ohio’s legislature moves toward final approval of a bill that would chip away at public-sector unions, those workers say they see it as the opening bell in a race to the bottom. At stake, they say, is what little they have that makes them middle class.' [more inside]
posted by VikingSword at 1:34 PM PST - 183 comments

On Sunday, ESPN aired an acclaimed documentary about the University of Michigan's Fab Five. In one segment the members of the Fab Five discuss their hatred of the Duke University basketball program, and Jalen Rose goes so far as to say that at the time he felt like Duke players were "Uncle Toms". Link goes to clip of relevant segment (1:24), after a short ad. Grant Hill, who played for Duke against the Fab Five, responded in today's New York Times. [more inside]
posted by auto-correct at 12:45 PM PST - 88 comments

A Very Special Episode: On July 20, 1985, ABC aired a "Too Close For Comfort" episode titled: "For Every Man, There's Two Women" in which Monroe Ficus (played by "unabashed gay icon" Jim J. Bullock) is kidnapped and raped by two bikers (possibly in a bathtub of jello). In recent years, stories have surfaced of individuals traumatized by the repressed memories of this mysterious episode. This is one of those stories. A film by Ethan Duff. (via The Retroist) [more inside]
posted by mrgrimm at 11:50 AM PST - 294 comments

EVERYPONY MUST STAND -- OR EVERYPONY WILL PERISH IN THE THUNDER OF COSMIC HOOVES! - Great Comics That Never Happened presents Jack Kirby's My Little Pony.
posted by Artw at 11:50 AM PST - 27 comments

The Trouble With Autobiography
posted by puny human at 11:16 AM PST - 18 comments

Five days of earthquakes. An animated display of all earthquakes over M4.5. 1 video sec = 1 hour real time. The big one hits at 1:17. (SLYT).
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 10:32 AM PST - 28 comments

Swiss search and rescue dogs were having trouble entering Japan due to strict Japanese rules on imported animals. [more inside]
posted by anya32 at 10:10 AM PST - 34 comments

It's not 'cheating' if you don't get caught. Elephants can figure out how to cut corners.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:42 AM PST - 39 comments

All your art are belong to us. Previously, Rogert Ebert said that video games can never be art. And previously, some disagreed. In a recent opinion piece, game developer Brian Moriarty discusses the debate, and fires a fresh salvo. The piece is long winded, examining art, medium, games, and industry. He seems to conclude that games are not Art, but lengthily addresses what may be the more important question: Could they be?
posted by Stagger Lee at 9:12 AM PST - 133 comments

#30daysofbiking "The only rule for 30 Days of Biking is that you bike every day for 30 days—around the block, 20 miles to work, whatever suits you—then share your adventures online." This round starts April 1st. [more inside]
posted by jillithd at 8:50 AM PST - 61 comments

Tour the solar system from a browser window. "Eyes on the Solar System", currently in beta, from JPL and Caltech. Yes, you have to allow a 3rd party plugin. Sorry about that. Zoom in to earth, and the sunrise line is accurate for the current time. Zoom to asteroids, satellites, or planets. Rewind time to watch Voyager go home.
posted by lothar at 8:41 AM PST - 19 comments

Professor Sheila Addison was fired from John F. Kennedy University for performing in a burlesque revue. Steven Stargardter, president of the university, said that her actions brought “public disrespect, contempt and ridicule to the university”, although she never publicized the show on campus, discussed it with students or identified her affiliation with JFK when she performed. Meanwhile, a male colleague in another department was performing at the same time in a one-man show in which he was partially nude, and he publicized his show on campus and invited students and colleagues. He was not disciplined.
posted by kyrademon at 7:58 AM PST - 133 comments

The musical saw is an instrument with close to a 300 year history. The musical saw sprung out of the Appalachian hills with mountain music, and then it found a home in Vaudeville. Despite its spotty documentation, the musical saw lives on.
posted by rageagainsttherobots at 7:17 AM PST - 32 comments

Conceptual Devices is a think tank that considers design as a social engagement. Its projects operate through a shift of symbolic values due to the social utility and social responsibility of arts and design in contemporary society. Where you can learn how to transform a hoodie into a: computer sleeve, baby carrier, strap bag, back-pack, pillow. The DIY diary, Graphic Templates for DIY Leaflets, and much more. [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 7:11 AM PST - 17 comments

41 year old rapper, singer, G-Funk ambassador Nate Dogg died last night. Nate is remembered by Snoop and Daz, but his death will leave a mark on the entire rap music world. Videos below the fold. [more inside]
posted by paisley henosis at 5:38 AM PST - 72 comments

The cyclotrope is a cycle of 18 images that is spun at a certan speed so that the frame rate of the camera filming it gives the illusion of animation. Created and animated by tim wheatley. Like a Zoetrope or Phenakistoscope but using a bicycle wheel. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 3:10 AM PST - 14 comments

I've been greatly enjoying the NZ MetService weather blog for a while now. There are posts about cloud formations, weather pioneers, forecasting, and all kinds of other weather geekery. It does have an NZ slant in places but everyone has weather, and the technical information included is fascinating whatever your location. [more inside]
posted by shelleycat at 2:05 AM PST - 7 comments