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The evolution of the French students' CPE protests in photos.
posted by pwedza at 11:29 PM PST - 21 comments

Marcels TV Museum Quite why some are pictured on the lawn is not clear. Videos, cameras, radios and 8-tracks too. [via]
posted by tellurian at 11:16 PM PST - 10 comments

Warning to chatroom users after libel award for man labelled a Nazi. "Mr Keith-Smith told the Guardian that he took action after a debate about the Iraq war in 2003 on a Yahoo! message board with about 100 members turned ugly. "She was very pro-Bush. Initially, she called me lard brain and I wasn't particularly concerned about that. Then she called me a Nazi," he said."
posted by gsb at 11:11 PM PST - 45 comments

Education for Death. (YouTubefilter.) Disney-produced anti-Nazi cartoon short from 1943. Look for Hitler's Satanic horns. More weirdness from WWII: Warner Bros Snafuperman, starring Pvt. Snafu (originally created by Dr. Seuss!), who also deals with spies, all while jabbering away in a voice that sounds disconcertingly like that of a certain cwazy wabbit. From Archive. org -- Pvt. Snafu learns about booby traps, in one case literally. Bugs himself joined the Air Force, and was faced with gremlins for his trouble. Superman himself got in on the act, battling Japoteurs. After all, during the War we were plenty worried about those canny Japanese.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:46 PM PST - 26 comments

I don't believe they'll give up on the bases and the oil. Nor will its successors, Republican or Democrat. So I think that's what we will be doing, staying forever. Unless the rest of us, outside the government, force change on the leadership of the Democrats as well as the Republicans, which will be difficult and take a long time.

From DailyKos comes an excellent series of interviews with Daniel Ellsberg; leaker of The Pentagon Papers. Part 1: The Pentagon Papers and the Overlooked 1968 Leaks, Part 2: Judith Miller, the New York Times and Government-Controlled Press, Part 3: The Cult of Secrecy in Government and Its Undermining of Democracy, Part 4: Whistleblowing and Effective Activism, Part 5: Iraq/Vietnam Parallels and Other Foreign Policy Fiascos and Part 6: Bush, the Next 9/11 and the Approaching Police State.
posted by afu at 7:57 PM PST - 48 comments

Dancer Sues Movin' Out for breach of contract and sexual harassment she claims to have suffered during her run in the National Touring company of the Broadway hit. In an interesting move, the dancer, Alice Alyse, has created a lawsuit website to explain her side of the story. Perhaps she'll win, but will she ever work again?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:29 PM PST - 29 comments

A conversation about the future is a 1 hr. 15 min. Time magazine podcast (mp3 file) of a panel discussion, featuring Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban, LA Times op-ed editor Andres Martinez, author Steven Johnson ("Everything Bad Is Good for You") and magazine writer Caitlin Flanagan.
posted by edlundart at 5:47 PM PST - 10 comments

The face of gaming. (via /.) A glance down memory lane to 20 years ago, when games looked and felt completely different. Were those old games really as great as our memories tell us? Other than all of our graphical splendor, can we really say that games have had any real new innovation?
posted by mystyk at 4:56 PM PST - 56 comments

Platinum Weird is a mysterious band formed in 1973 (or '74, depending on the website) by future Eurythmic Dave Stewart and his "soulmate" Erin Grace. Tidbits from various sources speak of underground parties with celeb devotees, a lost collaboration with George Harrison, and a sudden disappearance by Ms. Grace who was never seen again. Except it seems the whole thing is a to-be-released album on Interscope, created by Stewart and Kara DioGuardi, a songwriter who pens tunes for top 40 artists.
posted by ktoad at 4:21 PM PST - 17 comments

"I am under censure for mentioning numbers...." "I am instructed NOT to use hard numbers when telling kids how old rocks are. I am supposed to say that these rocks are VERY VERY OLD... but I am NOT to say that these Ordovician rocks are thought to be about 300 million years old."

Essentially, they are not allowing Bob to teach a certain set of scientific data in order to protect their ability to provide students the good science curriculum they do teach. The directors... have heard from them more than enough times that teaching evolution would be "political suicide".

In Arkansas, even supporters of teaching evolution feel they must hide, obfuscate, and water-down evolution.
posted by orthogonality at 2:45 PM PST - 111 comments

"I have no desire to be a dependent thwarted bitter crip living out decades of boring meagre existence. I have my path mapped out clearly. Artist."

The Thwarting of Dreams, by Hero Joy Nightingale
posted by iffley at 2:22 PM PST - 15 comments

Character Counts! Last year, Arizona State Treasurer David Petersen stood in front of the International Building Cities of Character Conference to deliver a keynote address. Inside the Character Training Institute's headquarters, Petersen took to the conference podium to tell how his state's Family Services Committee passed "Character Education Legislation." "All schools now have it implemented," he said. "We're fighting for the soul of this nation." Petersen added that he attributed his passion for character to a personal meeting with evangelist Bill Gothard, founder of Institute in Basic Life Principles. Petersen is now the focus of a theft and fraud inquiry alleging that he used his position and state funds to promote the character education program, a program to which he had financial ties. Is your city a City of Character?
posted by Otis at 2:21 PM PST - 17 comments

Samuel L. Jackson and other Snakes on a Plane cast called in for reshoots. And yes, it has been confirmed that Samuel L. Jackson will say (shout it with me)... [more inside]
posted by UKnowForKids at 1:28 PM PST - 144 comments

George Perry, a poor 19 year old farmer, set the world all-tackle record for large mouth bass in 1932, when he caught a 22 pound, 4 ounce bass in Montgomery Lake, Georgia. It's a good story -- he was a poor farmer, he and his buddy only had one lure, it was during the Depression, and the fish was not caught for sport but for food. Furthermore, it was only weighed as an afterthought, after he was told that Field and Stream had a big bass contest that paid a $75 prize. Amazingly, that record has stood for over 73 years. In the interim, sport fishing for bass has become widely popular around the world, a multi-billion dollar market served by its own retail establishments, tournament tour, TV shows, corporate sponsorships, and legions of amateur fisher-men and -women, all trying to catch a bass bigger than the one George Perry caught back in 1932.

On Monday, after years of trying, a trio of San Diego fisherman hooked a 25 pound, 1 ounce fish that may have broken that record. (Includes picture of obscenely huge large mouth bass.) And they let it go, passing up potentially millions of dollars in endorsements. And their decision to release the fish and not pursue the record is the real story here.
posted by mosk at 12:27 PM PST - 29 comments

Oprahhhhh Froooooom Sppaaaaaaaaacccceee... and other interesting landmarks via The World According to Google.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 11:46 AM PST - 25 comments

Rivers of Light Hypnotic night-time helicopter shots, floating over downtown LA offices and highways. From Grass Collective. Flash interface, so find your way to the fifth column from the left ('free downloads'). [Large (91MB, 146MB) zipped QT files - a smaller (12MB) sample here]
posted by carter at 11:20 AM PST - 12 comments

The Narrow Gauge Circle hosts, among other fine features, the Ted Kierscey Collection -- page after page after page of historical photographs of Colorado's railroad and mining towns.
posted by Gator at 11:15 AM PST - 7 comments

Did Isaac Hayes really quit South Park? Last night's show roasted Hayes for his irate departure following the now-infamous Scientology episode (banned from the air in Tom Cruise's litigious wake, full episode here). In the latest episode, masters of subtlety Trey Parker and Matt Stone depict Chef as having fallen prey to an insidious cult, the "Super Adventure Club", subsequently killing him off in a manner that would make Kenny jealous. But today FoxNews reports that Isaac Hayes has been in the hospital since Jan. 17th, following a stroke, and never issued a statement. Apparently, the Scientology Center issued it "for" him. [via] [previously discussed here here and here]
posted by mowglisambo at 11:15 AM PST - 81 comments

Remember back in the '90s when the GOP was still the party of fiscal conservatism, and the shiny new code word was "family values"? Well, they still believe in family values part: Exhibit 1. Exhibit 2. Exhibit 3.
posted by hwestiii at 11:05 AM PST - 31 comments

The only moral abortion is my abortion? What do some anti-choice women do when they experience unwanted pregnancies themselves? "I never dreamed, in my wildest nightmares, that there would ever be a situation where I personally would choose such an act. . . ."
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 10:54 AM PST - 106 comments

"Spring." That was the complete text of an email I received from houseofleaves.com last night. It seems as if Mark Z Danielewski is getting the hype started early for his new novel. Not much is known about it beyond its (again) creatively colored title-- Only Revolutions -- and this enigmatic forum post from last August.
posted by empath at 10:44 AM PST - 20 comments

The big payback in Iraq. Last night on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, ROBERT LICHTER, President, Center for Media and Public Affairs put forth the following: You know, Charlie Peter, a great Washington journalist, once said, "The message of Watergate was dig, dig, dig, but journalists thought the message was act tough." And so I think you're getting negative coverage that may be kind of compensatory criticism.

Should the news focus more on the optimistic elements or is it reflecting public opinion. Is "compensatory criticism" justified for what it might wrongly perceive as possible White House manipulation during the run up to the war?
posted by Skygazer at 10:10 AM PST - 22 comments

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5-3 decision (.pdf) that police may not search a home if any inhabitant of the home is present and objects to the search, even if another inhabitant consents. The Court drew what it acknowledged is a “fine line” – if a co-inhabitant is at the door and objects, the police can’t enter; but if the co-inhabitant is somewhere else – even in a nearby police car – and has no opportunity to object, then police don’t need his or her consent. Chief Justice Roberts issued his first written dissent, blasting the majority’s “random” and “arbitrary” rule and suggesting that the ability of police to respond to domestic violence threats could be compromised. The zingers in the footnotes may reveal “strains behind the surface placidity and collegiality of the young Roberts court.”
posted by brain_drain at 10:00 AM PST - 91 comments

Ansel Adams' Lost Los Angeles. Flickr set
posted by srboisvert at 9:36 AM PST - 11 comments

Free printable cardboard lens hoods. Not only are they free (except for the cost of printing/cardboard), but they are collapsible. [via iStock]
posted by jonah at 8:24 AM PST - 14 comments

"How to Save a Beer Style" by Michael Jackson (no, not that Michael Jackson). It seems that there are one or two, including the 10 Easiest to brew yourself. There are several styles of Belgian beers alone. In the U.S. we can thank Alan Cranston and Jimmy Carter for decriminalizing homebrewing in 1978. For those requiring an education there's Beer 101. Cheers!
posted by spock at 8:22 AM PST - 18 comments

Firefox “causes” breakup... One man uses his fiance's computer to surf dating and swinger websites. He's careful to wipe his passwords etc. as he surfs - and then for good measure, de-installs Firefox.

The fiance then decides to install Firefox for the usual reasons, not knowing the above and happens to decides to edit the list of sites to never save passwords for. And comes across a list of said websites, and realises that he's still an active member of those websites.

Surely when you de-install a program, the uninstallation process should get rid of program-related data too, like in games? Although the geniuses at Firefox manifestly disagree with this. Other commenters also think the man was in the right.
posted by badlydubbedboy at 8:21 AM PST - 61 comments

So we're at this bar and I'm like, Jessica, your uptalk is totally annoying?, and she goes, actually Stephanie, it's called HRT? and I'm like, whatever, I heard it'll destroy your career? and she's all, no way, even the President does it now? so I go, just forget it ok? and order another Stooooohhhleee owwrindge and taaaahnick.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 8:06 AM PST - 159 comments

Sprite, 68 degrees and all TVs set to Fox News. The Smoking Gun brings us Vice President Cheney's backstage requirements.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:21 AM PST - 68 comments

I'd like your smallest painting. No, smaller than that. Even smaller. Wait, that's too small.
posted by justkevin at 6:25 AM PST - 21 comments

If Jesus was to preach like He preached in Galilee
They would lay Jesus Christ in his grave.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:40 AM PST - 57 comments

Digital Funnies: Comics Preservation by Jonathan Barli. Welcome to Digital Funnies, dedicated to preserving the history of this most neglected of art forms and reintroducing it to scholars and new readers alike. While several well-known titles such as Krazy Kat, Gasoline Alley, and Peanuts are being given their proper due in published form, there is still much of the rich history of comics and cartooning that will more than likely never see print again and worse, fade away with time. [Via Drawn!. And involved in this project is our very own Adam Kempa.]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:36 AM PST - 9 comments

Britannica's issued a salvo against Nature's famous "Wikipedia and the EB are comparably error-strewn" analysis. Here (pdf).
posted by Tlogmer at 2:26 AM PST - 42 comments

Город наш! The city is ours! Belarussians are using weblogs, online communities, and text messaging to organize, share news and numerous photos, and oppose their corrupt government's fraudulent election. Patriotism, flags, and dark blue is in fashion, whether the government likes it or not.
posted by insomnia_lj at 2:09 AM PST - 32 comments

Dumb: The Game is an extremely addictive puzzle game, with the added addictiveness of a "world rankings" scoreboard to prove to the world just how smart you are. If you get stuck, the forums contain a LOT of hints. [More inside]
posted by antifuse at 1:55 AM PST - 23 comments