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The Bat Segundo Show is a (mostly) weekly podcast featuring interviews with current writers. There are almost 50 installments now online, but the show began appropriately enough with a 37-minute interview with British novelist David Mitchell, who created the original Bat Segundo character in his first book, Ghostwritten.
posted by Alexandros at 11:30 PM PST - 21 comments

Following in the tradition of Prince, Cat Stevens and Terence Trent D'Arby, Canadian chanteuse Jane Siberry has changed her name.
posted by starkeffect at 10:00 PM PST - 48 comments

Pull out a US $20 bill. Take a look at the picture of the White House. See that tree peeking in from the right, the 140 year old elm that's been there since Andrew Johnson? Well, it's gone. Yup. Fallen over, thanks to the soaker summer storms which have been hammering the Mid-Atlantic in recent days. Cleanup has started, but no word on whether the $20 bill will be needing another update.
posted by brownpau at 9:27 PM PST - 38 comments

NewsFilter: Limbaugh arrested for possible drug possession. And a few more links so I don't get accused of a single-link post. Oh wait, it's not on that Drudge link.
posted by afx114 at 8:32 PM PST - 105 comments

Not Just for Ice Cream : Breath Palette offers 32 flavors of toothpaste.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:12 PM PST - 41 comments

In 1963, a full 3 years before his first MoI recording, a young, beardless Zappa appeared live on the Steve Allen show playing a musical composition on bicycles. Jerry Hopkins, the show's talent coordinator, discusses how the young musician's debut performance came about. Hardcore zappaphiles can view Part 1, Part 2 (Danger: long & grainy B&W YouTube clips, diamonds in the rough).
posted by madamjujujive at 6:58 PM PST - 24 comments

You get the gay from your brothers. Or maybe not.
posted by NortonDC at 6:00 PM PST - 48 comments

"And yet the people who invented this country saw an aggressive, independent press as a protective measure against the abuse of power in a democracy, and an essential ingredient for self-government." Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, publicly responds to criticisms on the publication of information about clandestine surveillance of private bank records of Americans, offering a rare glimpse into the Fourth Estate's complicated negotiations with the government over issues of public interest.
posted by Mr. Six at 4:02 PM PST - 58 comments

The hospital that owns the copyright to Peter Pan is not very happy about a graphic novel by Alan Moore depicting the sexual awakening of Wendy [NSFW images].
posted by brundlefly at 2:58 PM PST - 73 comments

When it started more than 36 years ago, the World Series of Poker was more like a trappers' rendezvous than anything else: a small gathering of professional poker players and road gamblers getting together amongst themselves to see who was “the best.” Now, of course, it is an industry unto itself, with extensive media coverage, televised coverage on ESPN, and a large fan base that follows the daily results of this now six-week long series of tournaments, which culminates in the $10,000 buy-in “main event” to determine the “world champion.” In 1970, eight gamblers put up the $10k each to play in the main event; in 2005, that number had grown to more than 5600, making the total prize pool of $56M one of the largest ever contested, a number that is either exciting or appalling, depending on your point of view. The 2006 WSOP begins today with the casino employees event, and then the larger “open” events begin tomorrow, and continue until July 28, when the main event kicks off. This year’s main event has been lengthened to almost two weeks to allow for enough play to reduce the field from the estimated 6000 starting participants to the final 9 who will vie for an estimated first prize of $10M. Shuffle up and deal!
posted by mosk at 2:29 PM PST - 59 comments

Metaphorical.net - A collection of interactive studies and strange thoughts by william ngan. Favorites: Eichstatt and Sosostris. [via futurefeeder.com]
posted by swordfishtrombones at 1:20 PM PST - 3 comments

Science sites of all kinds for kids. Archeology. Entomology. Natural Symphony. Baseball in Space. Philosophy. Process or Content. Science songs. Physics songs, relativity. String theory. Science and Art.
posted by nickyskye at 12:57 PM PST - 9 comments

Jews and The Russian Revolution: "More often than not, we picture nineteenth-century Russian Jews as residents of hermetically Jewish shtetls, small hamlets saturated with tradition and authenticity. After the Revolution of 1917 perceptions dramatically reversed, as Jews suddenly appeared as consummate insiders in the young Soviet state. How are we to make sense of these disparate impressions, stemming from two adjacent historical periods?" [More Inside]
posted by gregb1007 at 10:45 AM PST - 44 comments

Bush Incompetent? Think again. I know this is a one link post, I'm afraid that I still haven't mastered the art of adding extra links, and I apologise because it is also from a partisan source. However it raises some points that I think are worth discussing, such as, is calling Bush incompetent not playing right into the hands of all those who kind of like his folksy, laidback ways, and who kind of identify with his fumbling style? Anyway, read this and see the results of this incompetence you might want to think again.
posted by donfactor at 10:22 AM PST - 114 comments

SCOTUS strikes down campaign finance restrictions [pdf]. The Supreme Court issued an opinion today in Randall v. Sorrell, striking down limits on campaign contributions and campaign spending imposed by the state of Vermont. The Court, in a fractured opinion (six separate opinions, including two dissents), concluded that restrictions on both contributions and expenditures ran afoul of the First Amendment. More from Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog. Expect more from Rick Hasen later today.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 8:53 AM PST - 81 comments

Black Gold in Alberta. The tar sands located in northern Alberta, containing 85% of the worlds bitumen could provide for america's oil needs for the next century. The trillion barrell oil pit will continue to grow in importance as the price of oil continues to climb, and investors from around the world pour billions of dollars into the rich dirt.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:17 AM PST - 44 comments

Captain Ahab, an amazing ravesploitation (embedded wav) band from LA, has just won the Snakes on a Plane song contest. They also have some brutal music videos (Youtube, NSFW) and songs on their myspace ('Girls Gone Wild' highly recommended). [mi]
posted by beerbajay at 6:03 AM PST - 21 comments

Gov't Break a Law? Change It The White House is nearing an agreement with Congress on legislation that would write President Bush's warrantless surveillance program into law, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday.
posted by Unregistered User at 5:04 AM PST - 34 comments

World of ColbertCraft. No, it's not a real game. Yes, it's just a bit of clever believable marketing. But you get to hear Stephen say "Wiiiiiiiii," and that's a keeper.
posted by grabbingsand at 4:50 AM PST - 20 comments

OSVids shows you how to install and use alternative operating systems. Currently demonstrating a wealth of Linux systems, Vista, and soon Mac OSX.
posted by lemonfridge at 1:57 AM PST - 10 comments

New Burger King Superman Returns toys cleverly promote excersise. Not just another merchandise tie-in, this new toy promotion lets you get off your butt and compare with other kids' walking times and throwing records online. Each toy is either a physical activity or an accesory for your workout. The site even features Superman's personal scores, allowing all of us to compete with the Man of Steel.
posted by johndog at 1:32 AM PST - 37 comments

This class has surprisingly readable (albeit few) and informative reports about scientific principles and devices.
go into a folder and open the .html file. its old school style.
posted by dminor at 1:13 AM PST - 3 comments