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Models come alive, games programmer Will Wright gets deep on game design in his PC Forum talk. His slides are here ("This is like CANDY for NERDS!") . [Via Corante.com]
posted by jamespake at 10:02 PM PST - 9 comments

Got a same-sex partner? Live in Ontario? Well, you can get married, says the province's highest court. In fact, if you live in Toronto, you can get married right now.
posted by stonerose at 9:16 PM PST - 41 comments

Northvegr: The Northern Way is a site devoted to the practice, promotion and development of the Northern spiritual faith, which we call Hindrvitni or the Northern Way, aka the Norse ancestral faith, though the authors are careful to distinguish this from neopaganism, particularly Odinism and Asatru. Once you're on board, be sure to Buy Heathen!. [more inside]
posted by dhartung at 5:58 PM PST - 17 comments

Best song of the last quarter century? Ok, I liked the song when it came out,(Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit) and can still listen to it today. But, VH1 is saying it is the best song for the last quarter century. That, I have a problem with. It is going to take me some time to reflect on this and come up with some alternates. I thought you folks may have your own opinions as well. So, lets hear it, what do you think is the best song of the last quarter century?
posted by a3matrix at 5:30 PM PST - 102 comments

Why Are The Six Best Restaurants in New York All French? Because William Grimes from the New York Times is a massive, provincial, toadying snob, that's why says so. [NYT reg. req.] With his haughty tone, architectural blatherings and whiney voice [Real Video link] he's undoubtedly my pet hate among restaurant critics, even though he obviously knows his stuff, not to mention a thing or two about cocktails [here is his take on the Martini]. My favourite critics are GQ's Alan Richman and the Anti-Grimes himself, a man who truly knows his food, Robert Sietsema of The Village Voice. What critics get your goat or vote? Which ones are worth reading and following? More importantly, which ones - or anonymous restaurant guides, like Zagat's, can you trust, if any?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:31 PM PST - 36 comments

How Dodgy Are You? I'm in the clear. No years in prison and no fine. Safe and boring. Let's see the Mefi criminal element emerge shall we? [Imagary may now be work safe and the quiz is based on UK law ...]
posted by feelinglistless at 2:04 PM PST - 49 comments

Imagine drifting off to dreamy anaesthesia -induced sleep for some such surgery and having some medical student cram a digit up one of your holes. Apparently, it happens all the time in the name of "learning".
posted by vito90 at 2:01 PM PST - 28 comments

Step one: record an embarrassing video of yourself (RealPlayer link). Step two: Let the video fall into the hands of the internet masses, and become the hero you've dreamed of (also RealPlayer).
posted by ewagoner at 1:33 PM PST - 22 comments

Images of Afghanistan, 1976-78. A good range.
posted by plep at 12:05 PM PST - 12 comments

Calls for a ban on Halal and Kosher slaughtered meat in the UK are being called an attack on religion or necessary to improve the welfare of farm animals... Where to start thinking about this? Take 1: Is there a vast right-wing, um, wait, left-wing, um wait, err, something-wing conspiracy against Muslims right now? Take 2: Is this a case of "colliding waves of political correctness"? Take 3: As a vegetarian (works for me, ain't gonna preach) the notion of killing animals nicer is kind of funny. Why couldn't we just survey the animals as they enter the slaughterhouse? "Slash to throat? Bolt to head? Electrocution? Thank you, drive through." Whichever way you look at the story, it just goes to show you, the world's a complicated place and you can't please anyone.
posted by lazywhinerkid at 9:55 AM PST - 82 comments

Backpack Nation has an interesting idea about helping out the third world.

The basic mission and strategy of Backpack Nation is to transform the world's dire political situation by sending individual travelers from the developed countries to serve as roving ambassadors to the world's less-wealthy countries.

posted by Karmakaze at 9:21 AM PST - 50 comments

PhotoVoyage is treasure trove of more than 50 photo essays from the Washington Post on wide-ranging themes. I am partial to the global features, such as the Dogon People of Mali, the Nunavut Journal, an essay on Sherpas or the bike tour of Australia, but there are other in-depth topics like The Business of Bananas and Recycling that are fascinating too. Apparently, photography is not an afterthought on the Post site - this series is part of a larger section called Camera Works - also well worth checking out!
posted by madamjujujive at 6:55 AM PST - 6 comments

The World Heritage Tour is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a documentary image bank with panoramic pictures for all of the UNESCO World Heritage sites [warning: frames]. Examples include the tomb of Sety I, discovered in 1817 and permanently closed to the public in 1991 and the baroque churches of the Phillipines. [more inside]
posted by Irontom at 6:06 AM PST - 11 comments

"And mark my words, the calculated intimidation which we see so often of late by the "powers that be" will only keep the loyal opposition quiet for just so long.  Because eventually, like it always does, the truth will emerge.  And when it does, this house of cards, built of deceit, will fall." This is Senator Byrd, just a light at the end of a very dark and probably very long tunnel.
posted by acrobat at 5:15 AM PST - 91 comments

...we are all mortal Forty years ago today, the US President tentatively outlined the idea of coexistence with an intractable enemy. The famous, resonant lines about breathing the same air and cherishing our children's future feel oddly buried in the speech, between a "secondly" and a "thirdly". Cuba was still some months in the future when Kennedy gave this speech. Audio here.
posted by gdav at 2:25 AM PST - 26 comments

Crank Dot Net is devoted to presenting Web sites by and about cranks, crankism, crankishness, and crankosity. All cranks, all the time. Divided into over 100 sections, this is a great place to educate yourself on everything from the Theory of Elephanticity to How to Shrink Your Husband's Crotch.
posted by Ljubljana at 1:55 AM PST - 11 comments

Crap Towns. 'We continue to be ... surprised at the dreadful quality of British life' writes The Idler magazine, in their on-going quest to disover 'the crappest town in Britain'. How many here have escaped from truly crap places to live, or are still trapped in them? (more inside)
posted by misteraitch at 1:30 AM PST - 65 comments

Rep. Henry Waxman has written an (extensively footntoed and juicy) open letter to President Bush demanding answers about "misrepresenting evidence" against Iraq. Waxman is unique among an ever-growing numer of pitchfork-wielders as a Congressman who had supported the war. He wrote of the use of forged evidence about alleged nuclear transactions between Niger and Iraq:
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 12:36 AM PST - 51 comments