MetaFilter

A Fly Wearing Glasses
PopSci offers this cool gallery of high-magnification micro manufacturing coolness. Potentially NSFW if a mite at 50,000x could be construed as sexy.
posted by fenriq at 10:23 PM PST - 17 comments

Greensboro Truth & Reconciliation Commission releases its report. On Nov. 3, 1979, in Greensboro, N.C., Klansmen and Nazis fired on Communist Workers Party demonstrators, killing five and wounding 10. The gunmen, though captured on TV-news videotape, were acquitted of all charges in two criminal trials in the early 1980s. Two years ago, a Greensboro Truth & Reconciliation Commission was convened, following the South African model, to look into the case. It posted its report on its Web site earlier tonight, shedding some additional light on an incident that has divided the city for more than a quarter-century.
posted by lexalexander at 9:00 PM PST - 49 comments

Reggae and ska legend Desmond Dekker died today in London. In 1968, Dekker's song "Israelites", recorded with his band The Aces, became the first international hit by a Jamaican artist. According to his official site, the sixty-four-year old Dekker was still touring and booked to perform well into fall 2006.
posted by bcveen at 8:05 PM PST - 82 comments

The Wingdipper! A "specially designed dipping cup that allows Buffalo Wings to be evenly coated with dressing." Why do chickens hate it? Because "This innovative dipping cup design will only lead to more problems for the entire chicken community. In 2004, the average American consumed over 84 pounds of chicken. Already, Hooters sells 30 million pounds of wings every year! That's a whole lot of chicken." Crumb's right, I'm moving to France.
posted by JPowers at 7:35 PM PST - 38 comments

"We were forced to evacuate the remotely operated vehicle, 'Jason II,' several times to avoid getting it enveloped in volcanic clouds," said Bill Chadwick, ...one of the authors of the study. "But at other times, we could observe the eruption from only 10 feet away - something you could never do on land. So in some ways, we were able to see processes more clearly at the bottom of the ocean than we ever could on land. That was surprising." From KGW (bugmenot). Podcasts, videos, images, sounds, daily logs, and lots of information can be found on the project's website.
posted by pwb503 at 6:44 PM PST - 5 comments

MEDIA MISTAKES? Byron Calame, public editor of The New York Times, wrote a piece recently about how a faulty Page One story went unchallenged. He notes that despite a questionable premise, the story went uncorrected for a week, and even provoked a piece of art on the Times' op-ed page. Calame's piece gives us a tiny bit of insight into editorial mistakes and correction policies in the media, particularly when challenged from the outside. You get the sense of a behemoth bureaucracy in motion, difficult to head off, harder yet to correct. The Times itself collected some of its more ridiculous errors in its book Kill Duck Before Serving a few years ago. But less amusing is what law professor Eric Muller found. In early May, he heard Fox News' Judge Andrew Napolitano telling a story meant to illustrate how out of control the federal government's commerce-governing powers have become. Though Muller researched the supposed case Napolitano reported and found nothing in the legal archives, and asked Napolitano for more details, Napolitano has yet to respond.
posted by etaoin at 6:33 PM PST - 23 comments

Let's see if mefites like Jeff Cooper's list better than Heinlein's: What should a young male of 21 know, and what should he be able to do? There are no conclusive answers to those questions, but they are certainly worth asking. A young man should know how this country is run and how it got that way...A young man should be computer literate and, moreover, should know Hemingway from James Joyce. He should know how to drive a car well... He should know how to shoot well. He should know elementary geography, both worldwide and local. He should have a cursory knowledge of both zoology and botany. He should know the fundamentals of agriculture and corporate economy... He should know how to manage a motorcycle. He should be comfortable in at least one foreign language, more if appropriate to his background... These things should be accomplished before a son leaves his father's household.
posted by 445supermag at 5:24 PM PST - 69 comments

AIDS really did come from chimps in the 1950s --..."We're 25 years into this pandemic," Hahn said. "We don't have a cure. We don't have a vaccine. But we know where it came from. At least we can make a check mark on one of those." ... ...Identifying the source of the HIV pandemic is more than filling in a missing link in the disease's progression. ...
posted by amberglow at 5:00 PM PST - 25 comments

Republican-Approved Rock Music (NYT link). The National Review, the standard-bearing conservative rag founded by William F. Buckley (you know, Gore Vidal's good pal), has published a list of "Top 50 Conservative Rock Songs Of All Time" (NYT again -- not TNR). The explanations for the picks tend toward the obvious, if also occasionally nauseating. The top pick, and many of the others, are just this week's evidence of how irony is lost on much of conservative America.
posted by scatman at 4:03 PM PST - 114 comments

According to this article and a judge in Nebraska, short people have a different legal system than tall people.
posted by ashcan at 3:54 PM PST - 44 comments

TANGO'D! remember that awesome sony advert with all the bouncy balls in san francisco? well british drink firm tango have made an great parody of it. however, the residents of swansea north, where the ad was filmed, are not too happy. beautiful music provided by josé gonzalez (review) . [via]
posted by christy at 3:28 PM PST - 45 comments

Swarm shows you what websites people are visiting, right now. Although they appear to be migrating servers at the moment. And, in order for it to work as thought out, you do have to share some amount of your browsing activity (anonymously).
posted by allkindsoftime at 3:20 PM PST - 16 comments

Seperation of Power? (newsfilter) In a strange move, both the Rs and the Ds are livid that the FBI raided the congressional offices of Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana, (who may have accepted substantial bribes). House speaker Hastert spoke directly with the president, so, The president steps in an orders the documents sealed as a cooling off period as congress demands this is a separation of Powers issue. Some predict it will go to the SCOTUS.
posted by edgeways at 2:06 PM PST - 55 comments

You can achieve dream control. Lucid dreaming has been discussed on MeFi before. LD4all is a site that I highly recommend, as it takes you step-by-step through the learning process; from remembering your dreams through gaining control and even into more esoteric subjects. As a researcher in the field, I'm interested in both the empirical views and those more artistic in nature.
posted by Eideteker at 1:26 PM PST - 37 comments

Toni Morrison's Beloved named best American novel of the last 25 years. Critic A.O. Scott writes an accompanying article. Some people do not agree. Like this person or this one. The judges. (Bugmenot login: I used veganporn/veganporn.)
posted by papakwanz at 12:23 PM PST - 130 comments

Get laughed out of your last biker ralley for not having any ink? Worried what the guys in the band will say when you show up in short sleeves? Fear not, my needle-fearing friend, salvation may be at hand. Then again, maybe not.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:02 PM PST - 30 comments

Something Wicked This Way Comes: Here's my nomination for the worst-sounding, worst-looking music that ever happened in the history of torture. I challenge anyone to come up with worse. Can any music known to human anguish be more repulsive than the best Italo Disco, specially when skillfully presented by an enthusiastic Greek web tycoon? I think not! And what's more, be on your guard, for there are ominous signs it's about to flare up again...
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:46 AM PST - 42 comments

Stool transplants. How is it possible that this disgusting chestnut has not yet been discussed on MeFi?
posted by stemlot at 11:31 AM PST - 52 comments

Modern contract law, which frames and defines our modern economy, is shaped by old and rather mundane disputes. Consider some of the seminal cases: Hadley v. Baxendale (1854); Hamer v. Sidway (1891); Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. (1892); Mills v. Wyman (1825). These cases, while minor in their actual factual footprint, still shape the world of contracts over a century later. (more about the cases inside)
posted by dios at 11:30 AM PST - 32 comments

Jedi schmedi! Do something useful, and smack your Mac! (In public, even.)
posted by eriko at 11:16 AM PST - 18 comments

Mr. Rogers before the Senate in 1969. [video; YouTube]
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:39 AM PST - 63 comments

Poulpe Pulps: A gallery of pulp and comic cover art featuring octopi. Via Slate, who just commissioned a few new pulp covers for classic books.
posted by staggernation at 10:28 AM PST - 6 comments

A bound-to-happen mix of technofetish and appreciation of package design: Unboxing.com is a blog that documents the pleasure of OOBE--the out-of-box experience. Via core77.com.
More here: 1 2 3
posted by hydrophonic at 8:43 AM PST - 21 comments

"The groom confesses he has had some difficulty finding a bride, but he is hopeful that 'this one will stay.'"
If you were a young man looking to settle down with a girl, what would you do? Let friends or family set you up? Try the bar scene? Match.com? If you lived in rural Kyrgyzstan, you might skip the courtship and just kidnap whatever girl catches your eye. This fascinating Frontline/World piece explores a strange but shockingly common practice. According to one study, more than a third of ethnic Kyrgyz women are married by kidnapping.
posted by justkevin at 8:40 AM PST - 36 comments

Postcards from the Edge
posted by yerfatma at 7:13 AM PST - 23 comments

Save the South Central Farm! (video) Sure, Daryl Hannah is a little nutty, but she got behind a good cause here, helping urban farmers in LA.
posted by usedwigs at 6:30 AM PST - 14 comments

Lennon Letter Sells £12,000. In 1971, a New York Times article accused the Beatles, and other white artists, of imitating and exploiting American black music in their early cover records. Lennon responded angrily, "Many kids were turned on to black music by us. It wasn't a rip off, it was a love-in."
posted by three blind mice at 3:06 AM PST - 71 comments

Rice cakes are one of the most fattening foods known to man, while ice cream is one of the least fattening. Though this appears illogical, it makes perfect Anthropological sense. Education is the key to controlling body fat. If we know which foods store in the fat cells and which ones do not, we can make educated food choices.

The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health. There has been an explosion of books and diet plans based on the glycemic index, But while many popular diet books make it sound as if the glycemic index is an accepted theory, in truth, there are very real problems with this system. Some dieticians believe that a Satiety Index may be a better approach to reducing caloric intake whilst minimising cravings.
posted by talitha_kumi at 1:52 AM PST - 59 comments

Is this guy an awesome teacher or just crazy? Or maybe it goes hand in hand. Think back to the days of high school and college science classes. For most people, it probably wasn't chalkboards full of endless physics equations that got them interested in the sciences, but rather the crazy, cooky and awe-inspiring professors who do dramatic and unique demonstrations to get students interested. What makes a good teacher or professor? Is this teacher really reckless or is it a legit demonstration that benefits students?
posted by RockBandit at 12:04 AM PST - 65 comments