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The Overthinking Person's Drinking Game
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:35 PM PST - 69 comments

"Who knew people were so interested in commas?" Ben Yagoda has written three NYT pieces on correct comma usage: Fanfare for the Comma Man, The Most Comma Mistakes, and Some Comma Questions.
posted by hypotheticole at 9:55 PM PST - 63 comments

For Memorial Day weekend, at TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), Vice President Joe Biden talks about grief, and loss, and how "there will come a day, I promise you, and you parents, as well, when the thought of your son or daughter or your husband or wife brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye."
posted by Guy Smiley at 5:59 PM PST - 62 comments

"That is why you wear a hardhat. 2012 banding." [more inside]
posted by zerobyproxy at 4:56 PM PST - 39 comments

Confessions of a Genius Art Forger — In one of Germany's greatest art scandals, former hippie and talented artist Wolfgang Beltracchi forged dozens of paintings over a period of 35 years, earning millions and fooling top collectors and museums. In a SPIEGEL interview, he reveals how he did it and why he eventually got caught. Photo Gallery. Background... [more inside]
posted by netbros at 4:42 PM PST - 20 comments

Coffees, a new short by actor/writer/director Alex Beh. The 2 main same characters appeared in a kind of a sequel, called Babe. [more inside]
posted by growabrain at 3:24 PM PST - 3 comments

At Clifton's Cafeteria, someone left a light on. For 77 years. A downtown Los Angeles landmark, the Clifton's Cafeteria, has a storied past. Recently sold, it was established during the Great Depression, with a mission to provide affordable coffee and food - a pledge that was honored for decades. While remodeling, the new owners made an astonishing discovery: hidden behind a partition, a neon lamp that was switched on during the Great Depression and it's been on, continuously for 77 years. The owner estimates it's generated more than $17,000 in electric bills. [LATimes - if asked to log in, turn on private browsing and you're good to go - on Safari at least]. [more inside]
posted by VikingSword at 2:29 PM PST - 27 comments

NYTimes: The Glory and Pain of Pitching. Bobby Ojeda, starting pitcher for one of the greatest games in the history of Major League Baseball, takes us into the mind of the career athlete and his relationship with a constant companion -- pain.
posted by workingdankoch at 1:55 PM PST - 15 comments

"Louisiana is the world's prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana's incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran's, seven times China's and 10 times Germany's. The hidden engine behind the state's well-oiled prison machine is cold, hard cash." Louisiana Incarcerated is a tour de force eight-part series on the Louisiana prison system. [more inside]
posted by painquale at 1:26 PM PST - 48 comments

Tempero Brasileiro (mp3) is a collection of rare Brazilian tracks originally issued on 7″ vinyl. Compiled by Edson Carvalho, one of the top São Paulo crate diggers. [more inside]
posted by Tom-B at 1:07 PM PST - 10 comments

Reggie Watts gives the Ultimate TED Talk which means deconstructive, meaning-free, musical and far more entertaining than most. [more inside]
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:50 PM PST - 47 comments

On Sunday, April 13th, Tokyo illustrator Mao Sugiyama publicly seasoned and braised his own genitals on a portable gas cartridge burner and then served them to five eager diners who each paid about $250 for the meal. Sugiyama self-identifies as asexual and appears to fall into the gender classification of male-to-eunuchs called "smoothies". (Warning: Consider all links in this post to be NSFW) [more inside]
posted by hugandpint at 12:30 PM PST - 219 comments

While there were a few attempts at right-wing folk music during the 1960's, most notably The Goldwaters, Janet "anti-Baez" Greene was the darling of the conservative anti-communist right. Her songs include Fascist Threat, Commie Lies, and her most (in)famous, Poor Left Winger

"I'm just a poor left-winger, befuddled, bewildered, forlorn, duped by a bearded singer, peddling his communist corn. In the cafe, espresso, sounds of guitars could be heard, twanging a plaintive folksong, spreading the communist word..."

[more inside]
posted by stbalbach at 12:27 PM PST - 49 comments

Calcium supplements linked to significantly increased heart attack risk.
posted by storybored at 12:05 PM PST - 30 comments

New hope for tinnitus sufferers. [more inside]
posted by digitalprimate at 11:23 AM PST - 41 comments

The E-Book Wars: Amazon Versus the Rest. Publishers, distributors, booksellers, and authors weigh in on Amazon's ever-increasing presence and influence in the electronic publishing world. The author also takes a stab at forecasting the future for the major players in the e-book industry.
posted by Rykey at 10:55 AM PST - 32 comments

Yahoo! Axis redefines what it means to search and browse the Web. Yahoo! Axis offers a faster, smarter search with instant answers and visual search previews.
posted by Fizz at 10:54 AM PST - 53 comments

Every child comes equipped with
(Whether it's a boy or girl)
A big serving of explosives
Might be up to half a pound
They must be in constant motion
Push, and kick, and flail, and shout
If they can't, they just explode
Bang! Kaboom! Your luck's run out. [includes Soviet animation and baby monkeys] [more inside]
posted by Nomyte at 10:26 AM PST - 9 comments

Peter Brings the Shadow to Life is a video made by Joe Pease which cleverly inverts our perspective of a skateboarder.
posted by quin at 10:12 AM PST - 8 comments

...The cult of and luster for country blues among these record collectors came about because not only were recordings by Charley Patton, Son House, Skip James and Robert Johnson not successfully sold to African Americans, but other record collectors were not interested in them either. There were so many collectors of New Orleans jazz that not only did the recordings became too expensive to collect, they also didn't want them -- they wanted to find something that required more energy to uncover, and more energy to actually appreciate. Anyone who has ever listened to Charley Patton knows that you have to learn how to listen to him, you have to really struggle -- it is a work of archeology, really, to make out what he is saying. It is powerful, and I don't want to deny its power, but you have to learn how to hear that power, and African Americans, when these records came out, didn't necessarily hear that.

From an interview with Marybeth Hamilton, author of In Search of the Blues [more inside]
posted by y2karl at 9:31 AM PST - 13 comments

Future Self from the MADE group in Berlin, combines interactive light sculpture, movement and music. The effect is quite striking.
posted by Dr. Fetish at 7:32 AM PST - 4 comments

"Are Democratic politicians, like Andrew Cuomo, using social issues to distract from the economic status quo?" Article by David Sirota in Salon.
posted by Trochanter at 6:58 AM PST - 38 comments

Yesterday, the Major League Soccer Players Union released salary information for the 2012 season. The statistics may surprise you.
posted by lobbyist at 6:31 AM PST - 59 comments

London's top brutalist buildings
posted by Artw at 6:19 AM PST - 111 comments

The myth of English as a global language One would have to say that English, far from being a pure maiden, looks like a woman who has appeared out of some distant fen, had more partners than Moll Flanders, learned a lot in the process, and is now running a house of negotiable affection near an international airport
posted by infini at 12:15 AM PST - 76 comments