March 21, 2008

Anybody remember the Huret Jubilee?

Beautiful anaglyphs of 70's derailleurs show the art and engineering at the forefront 3 decades back. BYO3DG
posted by Rafaelloello at 11:54 PM PST - 25 comments

Custom Spirits

Craft distillers just got a boost in Washington State. It's now legal* to sell "up to 2 liters of their goods per customer and serve 2 ounce tastings – the same rights as craft brew or winemakers." [more inside]
posted by owhydididoit at 11:41 PM PST - 23 comments

No, it's *literally* raining McCain.

You've probably seen Hillary4U&Me or Hillary In The House, but you should know that Senator Clinton's supporters don't have a monopoly on awesome/hilarious propaganda. Witness Barack OBollywood and The McCain Girls in "It's Rainin' McCain!"
posted by EarBucket at 8:57 PM PST - 59 comments

Blue Stockings

Brilliant Women: The Blue Stocking Circle was a group of intellectuals with a strong desire to discuss, analyze, and examine the social, political, and educational problems of the day Mostly female intellectuals, but they included many prominent men as well. They assembled in the London homes of literary hostesses such as Elizabeth Montagu, Frances Boscawen and Elizabeth Vesey in the 1750s form the nucleus of the exhibition. .... At first, all the party-goers were nicknamed blues, but from the 1770s, the "bluestocking" tag was applied to the women members in particular. By the time of Montagu's death in 1800, any female intellectual might be labelled a bluestocking, whether or not she could claim a link to the original circle.
posted by caddis at 8:25 PM PST - 10 comments

Do You Believe?

Do you believe in ghosts on film? The history and controversy of spirit photography.
posted by amyms at 8:10 PM PST - 41 comments

Throw "Thrown Under a Bus" Under a Freakin Bus

Are you as sick of reading/hearing this as I am? "Thrown under the bus."
posted by Xurando at 5:57 PM PST - 83 comments

Rent Vs. Buy Myths That Ruined the Housing Market

Rent Vs. Buy Myths That Ruined the Housing Market
posted by Afroblanco at 4:38 PM PST - 107 comments

Laika Star

The history of the Russian space program in three short videos. The past, the present, and the future.
posted by vronsky at 3:38 PM PST - 7 comments

Suicide by robot.

Suicide by robot.
posted by jbickers at 3:01 PM PST - 46 comments

Who would win in a fight, a minotaur with a trident or a centaur with a crossbow?

Who would win in a fight: A minotaur with a trident or a centaur with a crossbow? Surely one of the great questions of of our time. Luckily the cast of Battlestar Galactica is on hand to answer. Basic cable scifi show not credible? Ask the cast of The Wire instead. [more inside]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:33 PM PST - 94 comments

Find the Star, Again

Hoshi Saga 2. Once again, your goal is to uncover the hidden star in each stage. [flash, via]
posted by churl at 1:53 PM PST - 10 comments

Dorothy Gambrell is very fond of data

Year Zero throughout history. Waffle Houses per capita. The 20th Century on Google Image. Dorothy Gambrell is very fond of data. [more inside]
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:28 PM PST - 14 comments

Water water everywhere, now with more drops to drink

Not content to rest on his laurels after creations like the portable kidney dialysis machine, the IBOT robotic wheelchair, the Segway, and the innovative cyborg replacement limbs, DEKA Research President Dean Kamen demonstrates his new vapor compression distiller on The Colbert Report. [more inside]
posted by mullingitover at 1:14 PM PST - 72 comments

He didn’t pay attention to man’s law or God’s law

From the diamond to the street (literally) to your mailbox, one thing is absolutely certain: Nails never fails.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 11:58 AM PST - 18 comments

"Yeah I watched the shit out of it."

Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are back on HBO with a new comedy, with Cross playing himself and Odenkirk directing. The pilot's being filmed in May in Los Angeles, and apparently they'll be needing "150 audiencers" (and here's Cracked's Five of the Funniest Mr. Show sketches to masterfully pad out the post).
posted by Kibbutz at 10:31 AM PST - 63 comments

Archangel, the CIA's Supersonic A-12 Reconnaissance Aircraft

Quick, identify this plane. SR-71 Blackbird, right? Wrong. [more inside]
posted by cog_nate at 10:22 AM PST - 94 comments

Lions and buffalo and crocs, oh my!

Lions and buffalo and crocs, oh my! Last night YouTube announced the 2007 Video Awards winners, as voted by online viewers. [more inside]
posted by ericb at 9:37 AM PST - 16 comments

The head of a small company may still choose to be a tyrant; a large organization is compelled by its structure to be one

In an artificial world, only extremists live naturally. Or: You weren't meant to have a boss. On the other hand, maybe you are.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:25 AM PST - 37 comments

We are all pathetic geeks at one time or another.

Pathetic Geek Stories is back! After a hiatus of almost three years we can once again revel in new comic strips detailing people's most humiliating youthful (and inevitably cringe-worthy) moments.
posted by wsg at 9:17 AM PST - 23 comments

Happy Everything!

In a coincidence that happens less than once in a millennium, over half the world is celebrating a holiday. It is Good Friday; the Jewish festival of Purim, where getting drunk is often an obligation; the Persian new year of Narouz; Eid Milad an Nabi which the birth of the Prophet celebrated by some Sunnis; and Small Holi for Hindus, among many others. [more inside]
posted by blahblahblah at 9:17 AM PST - 34 comments

Fire and Ice underground

Weird scenes inside the gold mica mines Russians photograph and play in an abandoned mine.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:47 AM PST - 8 comments

When Men Wear Nail Polish, the Terrorists Win

"I'm not a politician, I'm an artist. Depravity is part of the job description," says self-styled dandy, former drug addict, and controversial British author Sebastian Horsely, who was denied entrance to the US by customs officials at Newark Airport on the grounds of "moral turpitude," a wide net that encompasses everything from fornication to being a "nuisance." Shades of Oscar Wilde.
posted by digaman at 8:45 AM PST - 42 comments

No Intelligence Admitted Without Proper Authorization

Cephalopod enthusiast P.Z. Meyers is barred from entering public screening of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" P.Z. … unknowingly appeared in the movie and has been a vocal critic since it was announced. Last night he attempted to see the film at a private screening, which was advertised as open to folks who registered in advance with no ticket purchase. Meyers was recognized by the producer, Mark Mathis, who had him thrown out by security. Security (and presumably Mark Mathis) did allow Meyers' family and guests to attend the screening. Who was his guest? Richard Dawkins. Previously…
posted by device55 at 7:27 AM PST - 91 comments

A road is a road is a road

Did you know that you can create a simple set of directions to your house that works no matter where the recipient starts from? After 38 years this remarkable conjecture has now been proved by a 63-year old former security guard.
posted by unSane at 6:48 AM PST - 46 comments

Stranger Photos Have Happened

"Good afternoon, I attached this camera to the bench so you could take pictures. Seriously. So have fun. I'll be back later this evening to pick it up. Love, Jay / The Plug". Stranger Photos Have Happened.
posted by nthdegx at 4:03 AM PST - 58 comments

Barings redux?

Credit Suisse will take a $2.65 billion hit to earnings and post it's first quarterly loss since 2003 due, to no small part, to deliberate mispricing of asset backed securities by several traders operating at all levels of seniority across the 143 year old institution. [more inside]
posted by Mutant at 3:28 AM PST - 33 comments

Starbucks renewed

The Starbucks reinvention. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Howard Schultz announces thorough overhaul, unveils new espresso maker as replacement for oft-criticized Verismo machines. Yet some observers insist that the Mastrena solution, which puts a premium on consistency, will come up with low marks in quality and taste.
posted by Gordion Knott at 3:21 AM PST - 61 comments

The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904

"To suppose that the spirit of our people will not rise to the occasion is to suppose that our people are not genuine Americans. We shall make the fire of 1904 a landmark not of decline but of progress."
posted by dhammond at 1:31 AM PST - 10 comments

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