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"The arc of the Milky Way seen from a truly dark location is part of our planet's natural heritage," said Connie Walker, and astronomer from the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. Yet "more than one fifth of the world population, two thirds of the U.S. population and one half of the European Union population have already lost naked eye visibility of the Milky Way." In these areas, people are effectively living in perennial moonlight. They rarely realize it because they still experience the sky to be brighter under a full moon than under new moon conditions. "Reducing the number of lights on at night could help conserve energy, protect wildlife and benefit human health," astronomer Malcolm Smith of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. One study found an increased risk of breast cancer for women living in areas with the most light pollution (abstract). Some communities are embracing their dark skies, such as the New Zealand community of Tekapo, possibly home to first "Starlight Reserve," waiting on UNESCO's official approval. Not sure where to look in the vast night sky? Follow some guidelines, or check the view in Chile, Queensland, Australia, or Texas.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:51 PM PST - 74 comments

"Bartender, Make It a Stiletto." Meet Georgio, the human carpet.
posted by digaman at 11:30 PM PST - 33 comments

We Have Band's music video for You Came Out is stop-frame animation created from 4,816 still images without any video footage. The making of. (via likeCOOL) [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive at 8:52 PM PST - 20 comments

Tactical Corsets (marginally NSFW) -- "Tactical gear is no longer an all boys club. Tactical Corsets bring female operators MILSPEC features like MOLLE modular pouch attachment webbing and self-adjustable quick-release buckles in a load-bearing carrier designed to support the female form."
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:50 PM PST - 53 comments

Lea F. McCarty painted portaits of Old West killers. In 1959 he collected twenty of his paintings, each paired with an essay, in a book called The Gunfighters. [more inside]
posted by Bookhouse at 5:37 PM PST - 12 comments

"If we could take deep breaths, we wouldn't need the inhalers." As of the beginning of this year, inhalers used by 40 million asthmatics in the U.S. to deliver life-saving medicines can no longer be powered by chlorofluorocarbon CFCs. The propellants used now are hydroflouroalkane HFAs. The FDA (PDF with Comic Sans!) and doctors insist that the new inhalers are just as effective as the old ones, but many asthma sufferers are adamant that they are not. Oh, and the new inhalers cost three times as much as the old ones. [more inside]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:55 PM PST - 189 comments

This is the first site on the web to show where real artists and designers work. Painters, musicians, photographers, illustrators. The site lets you see their environment in which they go about the creative process and will hopefully inspire yourselves. [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese at 2:43 PM PST - 11 comments

Curious about the health of your bank? You might find BankTracker helpful. This site crunches the FDIC's publicly available numbers on banks' deposits, loans, and nonperforming loans, and makes them available in a search interface for banks and credit unions. [more inside]
posted by A dead Quaker at 2:07 PM PST - 15 comments

The fiddle is usually associated with the hillbilly mania of people like Michael Cleveland (the nerdiest master ever to wield a bow), or the can't-get-it-out-of-your-head knees up party sound of celtic music. The violin, on the other hand, is associated with the elegance of orchestral music. They're actually one and the same instrument, applied to different sounds. And nobody wrote for this instrument more movingly than the Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu (1853-1883). Listen to his Ballad for Violin and Orchestra with your eyes closed, and weep for the suffering of the world.
posted by crazylegs at 12:12 PM PST - 23 comments

Somnia is a 3d/2d puzzle platformer by Alex Austin and Aimee Seaver of Cryptic Sea (apologies, only a demo & windows only) [more inside]
posted by juv3nal at 10:43 AM PST - 2 comments

Ahmedinejad is declared victor in Iran presidential race. In spite of skepticism on the behalf of (among others) the Obama Administration, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday told all Iranians to respect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory.
posted by orville sash at 8:34 AM PST - 585 comments

Come, take a Train Ride through India. You could take the Palace on Wheels, and opt for a Luxurious Travel. Or, you can take one of the Super-Fast Trains here, according to Indian standards that is. And hey, while you're at it, how about taking a train ride to one of our Hill Stations? [more inside]
posted by hadjiboy at 2:00 AM PST - 36 comments