March 31, 2008

Penguins can fly!

Penguins can fly. And a very happy Poisson d'Avril to you and yours.
posted by bigskyguy at 11:13 PM PST - 24 comments

Go south, young polar bear

A new campaign plans to relocate polar bears to Antarctica to protect them from the effects of climate change. Based on the rates of ice melt in the North, scientists say most polar bears will be gone by 2050. The first bears will be moved on Earth Day, April 22. The relocation will be the initial step in a planned five-year program to migrate 3,000 polar bears from the Northern Arctic to the southern continent of Antarctica. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to rule soon on whether to list polar bears as endangered species; however, it has indicated that relocating polar bears would be much less expensive to taxpayers than listing them under the 1973 act.
posted by commonmedia at 10:59 PM PST - 24 comments

"The highest award for valor in action"

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society offers a wealth of information on recipients of the United States' highest military honor. To read some amazing tales, check out this full list, or maybe just this list of recently deceased recipients. [more inside]
posted by Bookhouse at 8:26 PM PST - 17 comments

gethuman on steroids

In the same vein as gethuman [previously.previously.], Bringo! is a nice free little service that helps bypass the (decreasingly) minor annoyance of automated phone answering systems (aka IVRs). Only it does all the work for you. [more inside]
posted by jckll at 8:07 PM PST - 12 comments

SCOTUS tells the ICJ to go hang

On March 25, the Supreme Court held (pdf) that rulings by the International Court of Justice are essentially not binding upon state courts. This paves the way for Texas to execute one Jose Ernesto Medellin for the rape and murder of two teenage girls. [more inside]
posted by valkyryn at 7:31 PM PST - 59 comments

Those who appear to be a little too happy will be asked to leave.

How I Want To Be Remembered by Jack Handey. He was fabulously wealthy, but he would pretend to be broke, and often tried to borrow cigarettes and money from people. Little did they know that those who gave him stuff would later be rewarded in his will, with jewels and antigravity helmets. You may know Jack Handey from his Deep Thoughts which first gained fame on as filler between sketches on Saturday Night Live. He is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker (scroll down this page for his other essays).
posted by amyms at 7:12 PM PST - 57 comments

Famous photographs re-shot with Legos

Famous photographs re-shot with Legos.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 6:40 PM PST - 47 comments

The People's Park

People's Park -v-
posted by vronsky at 6:33 PM PST - 17 comments

CPR without the P

New research has found that chest compressions without mouth to mouth resuscitation can be equally or more effective than with them. The American Heart Association is recommending that everyone learn this two step"Hands-Only CPR." (video) [more inside]
posted by brevator at 5:53 PM PST - 36 comments

What is the meaning of this post?

Ask a Philosopher. Is the sentence of death really a punishment? How can we discern the difference of how we authentically "feel" as opposed to how we "think" we feel? If humans didn't exist, would animals still have rights?
posted by desjardins at 5:47 PM PST - 30 comments

This was Jeopardy!

Inside Jeopardy: An interview with former writer/researcher Carlo Panno [Part 2] [Part 3]
posted by kyleg at 4:39 PM PST - 27 comments

about:mozilla

Welcome to Mosaic Communications Corporation! It was 1994, and the World Wide Web as we know it today was about to be born. [more inside]
posted by ardgedee at 3:29 PM PST - 32 comments

April Fools 2008

AprilFoolsDayOnTheWeb brings you the most complete listing of April Fools' Day Jokes that Web Sites have run each year from 2004 all the way up to today. Also, the Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time. Meanwhile, Google seems to be up to its old tricks...
posted by Effigy2000 at 2:05 PM PST - 41 comments

The Unmaking of the President

Lyndon Johnson believed that his withdrawal from the 1968 presidential campaign would free him to solidify his legacy—but four days later, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
posted by veedubya at 1:58 PM PST - 9 comments

Spinoza and Biology

Public concern over ecological damage inflicted by human activity has led to growing recognition of the general importance of issues relating to biological science. Unfortunately, the dispute between creationists and upholders of the theory of evolution tends to overshadow public discussion of other more pertinent matters. Specifically, there are significant but relatively unpublicized initiatives underway to promote holistic approaches to biology. The Nature Institute in New York is one such initiative... [more inside]
posted by No Robots at 12:35 PM PST - 78 comments

Damn Rippies

The Ripster phenomenon was identified back in 2006, and apparently, the movement has started to build momentum. I, for one, welcome our new rock-hard nerd overlords.
posted by SportsFan at 12:13 PM PST - 118 comments

Oh last I heard she's sleeping rough/back on the Heathrow Beat

All those passengers delayed amid the chaotic opening of Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5? Some are actually homeless locals wearing "floral shirts, fanny packs and other travel accessories to blend in."
posted by dw at 9:36 AM PST - 82 comments

Superhero Lonely

Spock (nsfw) -- titled "Planet New Hampshire," part of Superhero Lonely, a 2005 exhibition of paintings by John Jacobsmeyer. [more inside]
posted by brownpau at 8:28 AM PST - 19 comments

Best Story Ever

Best Story Ever is a series of clips featuring various celebrities -- Henry Rollins, Lewis Black, Dee Snider, Chuck D, Ron Jeremy, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and many more -- telling their best stories. Some are lame, some are funny. But hey, what's your best story ever? (It can't be lamer than Alan Thicke's, can it?)
posted by cog_nate at 7:58 AM PST - 64 comments

You like money, I like money, let's hang out

Webcomics Weekly #29 features a 2 hour (at times raucous) round table between Scott Kurtz, Ted Rall, Brad Guigar, Matt Bors and others on how to make money from webcomics.
posted by PenDevil at 7:26 AM PST - 2 comments

How to Write a Song and Other Mysteries

Measure for Measure - How to Write a Song and Other Mysteries. Blog from The New York Times: "In the coming weeks, the contributors to this blog - all accomplished songwriters - will pull back the curtain on the creative process as they write about their work on a song in the making." Contributors: Andrew Bird, Darrell Brown, Rosanne Cash and Suzanne Vega (only the Andrew Bird one is up right now).
posted by Ira.metafilter at 7:13 AM PST - 21 comments

Twisty megapost

Walter Randelshofer's Pretty Patterns collection (for Rubik's cubes up to 5x5x5) is one of the nicest twisty puzzle sites going. It's based on his CubeTwister software, which you can download (including a lovely OS X standalone). If you really want a treasure trove of twisty polyhedra, check out gelatinBrain's enormous collection of java applets (which unfortunately don't do so well on macs). Are those things even physically possible? Really? Mini bonus: Randelshofer also hosts an archive of fondly-remembered Amiga animations.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:28 AM PST - 8 comments

The Greatest Show on Earth

Under the Big Top: Shhhhhh! The Show's about to start*... quick, take your seat, sit down, and don't make a move. It's been going on for centuries, and now--lucky you will be able to be a part of it, if you haven't already as a child (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Honestly, who hasn't thought of running away from home and joining the Circus (but I'd suggest you wait a couple of years, until you're a little older, and a little wiser, to make these decisions). It is tempting though, when they roll into town with their fancy wagons, and their loud music. Although, the circus may not be as prevalent as it once was, there are new acts being created to entice crowds around the world. [previously]
posted by hadjiboy at 5:55 AM PST - 14 comments

Exiled from his Eden

[He] kept his one copy of this book safe,... under his sleeping area so that no one could destroy it. He would just look at pictures of his New York City family, and himself, over and over again.
Elizabeth Hess discusses Nim, the subject of her book Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human. Also: the Great Ape Project's Declaration on Great Apes; Richard Dawkins's "Gaps in the Mind."
posted by orthogonality at 12:44 AM PST - 32 comments

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