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Mental Floss makes couplets from literary first lines and hip hop hits using the "generate line" feature from rappad.co.
posted by klangklangston at 11:38 PM PST - 60 comments

Has pop music criticism really devolved into lifestyle reporting as alleged by this Daily Beast article? The response by Slate reviewing Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream". [more inside]
posted by lizarrd at 10:48 PM PST - 66 comments

25 Things you should know about life with a toddler. [more inside]
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:10 PM PST - 144 comments

Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buffalo Bills since 1959, has passed away at the age of 95. Wilson was the last of the eight AFL team owners known as the "Foolish Club," and is notable for his continued support of other small market teams, including voting against moving the Cleveland Browns in 1995 (one of only two to do so), and subsequently hosting a Browns Day in Buffalo. He saved the Oakland Raiders from bankruptcy, and insisted that the AFL postpone their games the day after JFK's assassination. As positive memories were shared on twitter from around the league, Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY, has left a light on in his honor.
posted by troika at 7:39 PM PST - 29 comments

Many people who say they can multitask show a cognitive deterioration when trying to perform more than one task at once. But according to Psychology Today, there are a small group of people who can actually multitask flawlessly.
posted by reenum at 7:36 PM PST - 53 comments

More than a few groaners.
posted by pjern at 7:02 PM PST - 46 comments

Since winning government in September 2013 (previously) Australia's conservative Coalition Government has been causing controversy, recently leading to nationwide protests (previously). Undaunted, this week the Coalition voiced support for the rights of bigots (more on that issue here), and reintroduced Knights and Dames. So, where's a depressed politics junkie to turn? To comedy, of course! After a successful crowdfunding campaign, satirical political comedy collective A Rational Fear are producing a 10 week season of Australian political comedy. [more inside]
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:44 PM PST - 44 comments

World Order take us on a tour of Akihabara. World Order release yet another fabulous video. Previously. Previouslier.
posted by arcticseal at 6:33 PM PST - 8 comments

Syracuse punk band Perfect Pussy's debut album Say Yes to Love is receiving very positive reviews. But something in these reviews is missing, says Ad Hoc Magazine. A piece about underground culture, mass media, and yes, Lady Gaga.
posted by mahershalal at 3:22 PM PST - 28 comments

Mark Zuckerberg buys Occulus Rift the darling of 3D VR gaming (previously: 1, 2) for about $2B. Given that the Oculus Rift was poised to be a major breakthrough for gaming, getting acquired by a advertising company social network has sent The Internet into a collective freakout.
posted by mathowie at 3:02 PM PST - 343 comments

James Rebhorn, an actor often playing a man in a suit, Dies at 65 after a 12-year struggle with skin cancer.

Mr. Rebhorn had memorable supporting roles in major films and worked consistently in television and theater. He appeared in more than 50 films, including “Meet the Parents,” “Independence Day,” “My Cousin Vinny” and “Cold Mountain.”

He penned his own obituary which can be read here.
posted by Fizz at 2:37 PM PST - 58 comments

In How History Can Be Used in Fiction historian Ada Palmer explores how two TV series about the Borgia family succeed or fail at conveying a period feel, where and why modern sensibilities influence the shows, and how the characterization of a protagonist whose age is historically uncertain can be affected by making him younger or older. It finally concludes with a discussion of why communication can be more important than accuracy and why some changes from historical fact strengthen fiction and others weaken it. [more inside]
posted by Wretch729 at 2:13 PM PST - 61 comments

"I seriously believed that someone with too much time on their hands had photomanipulated some screenshots of Rapunzel and tried to pass them off as the official Frozen designs. After all, there was no way that a major animation studio like Disney would knowingly, willfully produce three princesses with the Exact Same Face." -- Why do the Frozen heroines Anna and Elsa have the same face, a face they share with Rapunzel?
posted by MartinWisse at 2:13 PM PST - 121 comments

Hettienne Park writes a thoughtful response to recent events in Brian Fuller's Hannibal (link to Nerdist Writer's Panel podcast), specifically the most recent episode, Takiawase (link to AV Club Review). Spoilers ahoy in all links.
posted by PussKillian at 2:09 PM PST - 621 comments

You don't necessarily have to be into Minecraft to find this video of light speed visualized with Minecraft pretty neat. [SLYT]
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:20 PM PST - 5 comments

"The greatest challenge to 21st century paleontology: When commercialization of fossils threatens the science," a commentary by four paleontologists. [more inside]
posted by brundlefly at 1:06 PM PST - 5 comments

What Good Is Information? - "The internet promised to feed our minds with knowledge. What have we learned? That our minds need more than that" [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:07 PM PST - 24 comments

Why Alain de Botton is a moron. Alain Botton on why he is not a moron.
posted by shivohum at 11:56 AM PST - 91 comments

Teens React to Nirvana [SLYT]
posted by fuse theorem at 10:59 AM PST - 218 comments

This morning, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, two cases where private corporations have challenged the Affordable Care Act's contraception coverage mandate. Previously, and previously [more inside]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:52 AM PST - 161 comments

This Is a Generic Brand Video. This is a supplementary link.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 10:25 AM PST - 18 comments

Someone is leaving what appear to be coded messages in the stacks of Weldon Library at the University of Western Ontario. (via)
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:55 AM PST - 63 comments

From 1851 to 1858, Henry David Thoreau noted a number of natural occurrences in detail, including the first flowering dates for over 500 species of wildflowers in Concord. Additionally, Alfred Hosmer, a botanist in the same area, had recorded the flowering dates of over 600 species of wild plants in 1878 and from 1888 to 1902. With that data, Richard Primack, a biology professor at Boston University, and fellow researcher Abraham Miller-Rushing spent years aligning old plant names with current names to study the change flowering patterns from the recorded past to present. Their phenological study concluded that plants in Concord, on average, are now flowering 10 days earlier than they were in Thoreau's time (full article for the journal BioScience). [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 9:53 AM PST - 3 comments

"Stevenson High's star player Jalen Brunson was in the process of scoring a Illinois state semifinal record 56 points when he sank what would have been a three-point shot. The basket was waived off as a foul. Brunson raised his hands in protest. Photographers captured the moment." But what really happened? [more inside]
posted by The Girl Who Ate Boston at 9:19 AM PST - 70 comments

BEEF!!! But as with all quality emo, there was an issue, and that issue is invariable: There was a girl. (As Wikipedia correctly notes, the genre is androcentric, or places men at the centre of its perspectives. While women are the frequent topics of songs, their perspectives were shockingly scarce in emo.)
posted by josher71 at 7:05 AM PST - 23 comments

Best use of a vacuum cleaner ever.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:02 AM PST - 21 comments

A Dotted Line, is Nickel Creek's first studio album in 8 years. NPR has a "first listen" available for your pleasure.
posted by HuronBob at 6:56 AM PST - 44 comments

In a study and trial somewhat breathlessly reported as Norwegian troops get unisex dorms, the Norwegian Armed Forces has tried out unisex dorm rooms with two women and four men to a room, and consider the experiment a success, with better unit cohesion and lower rate of sexual harassment as results. [more inside]
posted by Harald74 at 6:19 AM PST - 38 comments

Evolutionary biologists at Northumbria University have used science to figure out "attractive human dance moves" that demonstrate optimum genotypic and phenotypic health to prospective mates. "Cutting-edge motion capture technology" was used to record good and bad dancing. (Technoviking was reportedly unpleased.)
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:14 AM PST - 29 comments

Sometimes nothing satisfies quite like the funky bass lines you hear played on the ghimbri in Moroccan Gnawa music, not to mention the ecstatic singing. And Hamid Kasri is one of the greatest exponents of the music. Check him out here and here . [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:48 AM PST - 11 comments

Billy Joel loses his place in 'We Didn't Start The Fire', stops the band, then tells the audience why there's no point finishing the song. "An authentic rock 'n' roll fuck up."
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 2:03 AM PST - 131 comments

Ars Technica Picks Their Least Favourite ST:TNG Episodes
posted by modernnomad at 1:06 AM PST - 189 comments

You may already be familiar with Garfield Minus Garfield (mefi post), weirder variants like the currently inactive Garfield Minus Plus (James) Garfield) (and my personal favorite: Garfield minus Garfield's Thoughts.) Now there's Garfield Minus Jon (Arbuckle) Plus Jon (Osterman).
posted by kagredon at 12:27 AM PST - 23 comments