MetaFilter

CNN reports that Strom Thurmond died about an ago, this time for real. The South Carolina senator first served as state senator in 1933, went on to become governor in 1947, and won his Senate seat in 1954. In the last years of his term, the recently-retired Senator was barely functional, unable to so much as wield a gavel. Thurmond will likely be remembered for leading the opposition to civil rights for blacks in the mid-20th century. Strom Thurmond was 100 years old.
posted by waldo at 7:52 PM PST - 98 comments

The Box Office Oracle You pick the writer, director, genre, actrons, budget, rating and month of release. You get projected box office receipts, chance of winning an Oscar and critics most likely to praise and pan your movie. There's even a BOO Hall of Fame. [via All Movie Guide reviewer Matthew Tobey]
posted by mediareport at 6:19 PM PST - 25 comments

The "Goodie Box" at Amazon is $9.99. It has a $10.00 rebate. No word on what's in it or when to expect it. Order it find out I guess, then send in your rebate and get your money back. Any guesses? A Mystery box for $4 shipping cost is intriguing enough for me to try it. I have mine on order, anyone else?
posted by Dome-O-Rama at 5:29 PM PST - 41 comments

The Windshield Killer: Chante Mallard's Timeline of Shame details what this woman did on the evening leading up to her high speed hit and attempted run when she was on drugs, had been drinking and hit a 37 year old homeless man named Gregory Biggs on the highway. After he lodged in her windshield, she tried to pull him out but couldn't. Instead she drove home, parked the car in the garage and let him bleed to death over the next two hours. Why didn't she call the police or a doctor? She was too scared (read that, too wasted). Instead she had her boyfriend and cousin come and dump the body in a nearby park. Today she was found guilty in 50 minutes by the jury.
posted by fenriq at 4:45 PM PST - 47 comments

I am STUNNED by this story, highlighting recent comments by a former Japanese cabinet member. In a discussion about the declining number of children in Japan, Seiichi Ota of the Liberal Democratic Party said that gang-rape is a sign of virility, and that its perpetrators are "close to normal."
posted by hammurderer at 4:22 PM PST - 88 comments

Rumsfeld accuses Saddam of being a camper. "...he's probably wallhacking too". More funny stuff from bbspot. And via Dor-Lomin
posted by WolfDaddy at 2:23 PM PST - 15 comments

Hey everybody, it's Appropriate Michael Savage's name for your own purposes day! With contributions from Haypenny, über, Neal Pollack himself, and much, much, more, all in response to these threats.
posted by kickingtheground at 1:55 PM PST - 19 comments

The Rideau Canal is 202 kilometers long, goes from Ottawa to Kingston, Ontario, has 45 locks at 24 lock stations, and you can skate on it during Winterlude. More facts, a photo gallery. If I had the chance (and the money), I'd be renting me a boat and heading to eastern Ontario.
posted by ashbury at 1:30 PM PST - 14 comments

Doc Savage Pulp Covers, 1933-1949.
posted by crunchland at 1:09 PM PST - 18 comments

Would you prefer this to being patted down? A scanner the government is testing for airport screening reveals much more than meets the eye to be comfortable for most passengers. The agency hopes to modify the machines with an electronic fig leaf - programming that fuzzes out sensitive body parts or distorts the body so it does not appear so, well, graphic.
posted by orange swan at 12:29 PM PST - 38 comments

Ever had the urge to don a pair of tight pants, oil yourself up and grapple another man? Then you should head on over to the Kirkpinar Greased Wrestling Festival in Edirne, held each year at the end of June. But beware; the moves can be highly dirty and involve battering your opponent around the head, pulling their ears and even pushing your hand into your opponents shorts and squeezing their testicles. This sure isn't your father's wrasslin'!
posted by debralee at 11:35 AM PST - 8 comments

The 2003 Folk Life Festival, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, is underway on the Mall. As in most recent years, The Commonwealth of Israel is there, too. Who are they? What do they want? And, most importantly, how do they get permission to set up their tents on the Mall?
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:33 AM PST - 6 comments

Back when beer was good. "The stubby beer bottle was used by the Canadian breweries between 1961 and 1986, replacing the old long neck beer bottle. The stubby was a very sturdy bottle and could be refilled numerous times. In 1983 Carling O'Keefe Breweries began bottling Miller in a US style private mould bottle and soon after the other breweries also switched over to their own private mould bottles. Most of these bottles were then discontinued after a few years because of the cost and replaced with a common long neck beer bottle, but the stubby was abandoned."
posted by monkeymike at 11:08 AM PST - 41 comments

Nananana, nananana, hey hey hey, goodbye. AmeriCorps, thanks for the memories.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 11:07 AM PST - 18 comments

You too can discover the wonders of Scientology. Please take with you this educational material straight from the 70's. [via Daypop]
posted by Dr_Octavius at 10:37 AM PST - 27 comments

Want to serve your country, but you're not exactly up for being a marine? If you know an instrument well, then not to worry...join "The President's Own", the official USMC band! Unlike other USMC bands that are put together from Marine Corps regulars, musicians in the President's Own are enlisted specifically for playing in the band (MOS 9811). You have all the rank, privileges, pay, and snappy uniforms as a Staff Sergeant upon entry, and you can even work yourself up to colonel! You get all the benefits, like seeing the world and free haircuts, provided you meet height and weight requirements, and can meet certain physical criteria (try marching for 10 hours a day)....and NO BOOT CAMP...that's right...they're the only unit in the Armed Forces that doesn't require any military training before joining. And of course, one the coolest things about the Marine Corps band, is that you follow in the footsteps of John Philip Sousa, who enlisted when he was friggin 13.
posted by taumeson at 8:20 AM PST - 19 comments

Supreme Court wisely rules that you can't legislate morality and that privacy between consenting adults is a-ok as the Texas sodomy law (that applies to homosexuals only) is struck down. Ruling invalidates other remaining sodomy laws on the books. Dancing in the streets ensues. And as usual, Scalia gets to add his wisecracks in the dissent. [via SCOTUSblog]
posted by mathowie at 8:00 AM PST - 142 comments

Are you familiar with the Stirling engine? The Stirling engine creates a rotational force from the expansion and contraction of air heated by an external heat source. Due to the external, controlled nature of combustion they have potential application in eco-friendly power or where silent operation is desirable. Best of all, Stirling engines are simple to construct and can be pieced together from common household goods. If you're looking for something a bit more attractive, there are plenty of kits and preassembled units available. Thanks, Reverend Stirling!
posted by jammer at 7:31 AM PST - 19 comments

Ethics cost money - The Los Angeles Times discusses the effect of Levi Strauss's ethical standards on their place in a competitive marketplace. Can a company succeed when they place their morals ahead of their money?
posted by Argyle at 7:25 AM PST - 9 comments

Lawrence Northey's portfolio of robot sculptures. Meet the charming Teen Tokyo, the elegant Robot Queen and her entourage, and others in a delightful cast of characters. The artist creates some very cool rayguns too! Northey's works are in the spirit of Clayton Bailey, the robot artist extraodinaire. (via La Petite Claudine)
posted by madamjujujive at 5:50 AM PST - 4 comments

In 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 1... 1... 1... "In this footage obtained exclusively by The Memory Hole, watch as the President of the United States sits and does nothing after learning that his country is under attack." Andrew Card whispers about plane #2, POTUS remains engrossed in book. (Warning: Quicktime, little kids reading slowly in unison for five long minutes.)
posted by emelenjr at 4:49 AM PST - 144 comments

Digital Collections at the Ewell Sale Stewart Library: including A Delight for the Eye and the Mind, 'books on molluscs and their shells'; The Remarkable Nature of Edward Lear (Natural History illustrations by the famous 'nonsense poet'); Nature's Great Masterpiece: The Elephant; Foul and Loathsome Creatures (‘Illustrated Herpetological Books’); and Drawn from the Deep (‘The Fish in Science, Art and the Imagination’).
posted by misteraitch at 4:30 AM PST - 2 comments

The Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux. "I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people's dream died there. It was a beautiful dream. And I, to whom so great a vision was given in my youth,--you see me now a pitiful old man who has done nothing, for the nation's hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead."

Black Elk speaks.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 3:50 AM PST - 8 comments

The Fun Folks at Fox are giving the C&D Smackdown to "Faux News" and "O'Reilly Youth" t-shirts. The same people who taunted anti-war protesters with their news marquee are showing a shortfall of sense of humor. But always remember "there's no such thing as bad publicity", so the attacked site's web traffic is up. Anybody know a good intellectual property lawyer who'd work for t-shirts?
posted by wendell at 2:29 AM PST - 16 comments

Go On, Give Us A Song, One From The 21st Century! Mine is Comforting Sounds from the Danish quartet Mew, whose wonderful website I thoroughly recommend. [Windows Media involved.]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:34 AM PST - 6 comments