July 22, 2012

Neil Gaiman age 7, disciple of Scientology

Neil Gaiman, 7, Interviewed About Scientology by the BBC in 1968 David Gaiman, Neil's dad, was Scientology's UK PR chief. Neil was brought up in the cult but prefers not to talk about his childhood as a practising Scientologist. In 2010, he declared that he's not a church member.
posted by vanlal at 10:52 PM PST - 123 comments

A MetaFilter Post In Which YOU Become The Hero!

Fighting Fantasy (FF) is a series of interactive gamebooks for kids, originally published in the UK between 1982 and 1995, created by Steve Jackson (no, not that Steve Jackson) and Ian Livingstone. In a nutshell, they were Choose Your Own Adventure books with simple dice-based gaming rules built into them. The books primarily focused on fantasy themes, but sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, super-heroes, and modern-day horror tales were all covered as well. Containing art both fantastic and ridiculous, they were many a young lad's gateway drug into more complex nerdery. [more inside]
posted by Palindromedary at 10:20 PM PST - 50 comments

Concerning the Presentation of "Gone With the Wind"

Concerning the Presentation of "Gone With the Wind" [via]
posted by brundlefly at 9:22 PM PST - 23 comments

"It's a miracle we ever got any work done, because no one can waste time like you and me"

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee - Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld
posted by beisny at 8:46 PM PST - 89 comments

Travel on your stomach

The Perennial Plate: An American Food Trip is an online documentary series of short videos featuring "adventurous and sustainable eating" beginning in Minnesota and continuing around the US.
posted by Miko at 8:23 PM PST - 3 comments

“We’ve got a whole tank of stuff in there, and an octopus on order.”

“I grabbed him and said, ‘John, I think I can build a jellyfish.’" [more inside]
posted by alexoscar at 7:12 PM PST - 61 comments

Astronauts and religion

Communion on the Moon: The Religious Experience in Space.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:59 PM PST - 35 comments

Your adventure ends here. Badly.

YOU CHOSE WRONG. A children's treasury of horrible "choose your own adventure" story endings.
posted by Anonymous at 6:42 PM PST - 73 comments

A universe entirely made of antimatter wouldn't be a Michael Bay reality show

In case you needed another reason to love/fear them: With a tone that sometimes rings condescending or conspiratorial but always wonderfully flippant, the best minds of cracked.com discuss the grandest extremities of modern physics.
posted by es_de_bah at 5:16 PM PST - 8 comments

'Listen to the bass go Boom!': creating the Mama Said Knock You Out instrumental

great short video: Marley Marl, the producer of LL Cool J's 'Mama Said Knock You Out', recreates the beat, explaining its component elements and releasing a never-heard-before snippet of alternate LL vocals: "he says, 'hey, I got a sample that is so dope.' He pulls out Sly and the Family Stone..."
posted by the mad poster! at 5:10 PM PST - 36 comments

It really weirds people out

Mayim Bialik - once Blossom, now balancing acting and neuroscience - on not shaving. [more inside]
posted by mippy at 4:54 PM PST - 150 comments

Return to City 17

Half Life 2 Episodes 1 & 2 - a Retrospective
posted by Artw at 4:07 PM PST - 49 comments

I'm sorry

A Capella Dubstep (slyt) Offered without explanation, because honestly, you can't explain something like this.
posted by cjorgensen at 3:36 PM PST - 45 comments

Welcome to The Long Wall of 10,000 Li

The Great Wall of China (長城) took 2000 years to build, and stretches for 5500 miles. Yet pictures of that wonder of the world in popular media are typically restricted to the tourist-visited sections closest to Beijing. (There are several sections of the wall near that city.) Kuriositas has gathered some images that present the Wall from other areas.
posted by zarq at 3:20 PM PST - 33 comments

Where will U go next?

North Americans may have noticed that U-Haul trucks and trailers are emblazoned with colorful SuperGraphics. First created in 1988 (previously), the mobile gallery now comprises 206 images. Most U.S states and Canadian territories and provinces are now honored by multiple designs, as are the U.S. armed forces and 9/11. The classic America and Canada's Moving Adventure series, seen on trucks and trailers, features an iconic image for each state, province and territory. The Venture Across America and Canada series, begun in 1997, presents "carefully researched rare findings, little-known facts and mysteries," exploring science and nature, technology and history. At the U-Haul website, the "Learn More" link on each Venture SuperGraphic page leads to a surprisingly exhaustive discussion of the subject of each graphic. [more inside]
posted by BrashTech at 12:47 PM PST - 31 comments

Gophernaut!

Curious Kazakh Gopher at a Spaceport. (SLYT with explanatory NPR blog post) [more inside]
posted by Eekacat at 12:41 PM PST - 23 comments

New Maya temple discovered in Guatemala

"Dramatic" New Maya Temple Found, Covered With Giant Faces (SLNatGeo)
posted by tykky at 11:37 AM PST - 23 comments

Gotye Redux

An ASL, queer version of "Somebody That I Used To Know". Possibly the one refreshing Gotye cover on the interwebs.
posted by Devika at 11:12 AM PST - 56 comments

Veteran singer Kelly Hogan finally gets her due

Singer Kelly Hogan has a reputation as a journeyman, someone who's worked for years to master the craft but has yet to make a mark of her own. That may change with her new album, I Like to Keep Myself in Pain. Here are some songs: 1 2 3 4 5. [more inside]
posted by hydrophonic at 10:55 AM PST - 31 comments

Art’s Sale Value? Zero. The Tax Bill? $29 Million.

What is the fair market value of an object that cannot be sold? When art dealer Ileana Sonnabend passed away in 2007 at the age of 92, she left her children an art collection estimated to be worth $1,000,000,000. Over a forty year career, Sonnabend, along with her first husband and business partner Leo Castelli, worked with many of contemporary art world's best known artists, including Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg & Andy Warhol. One of the inherited paintings, Robert Rauschenberg's Canyon has become the center of a dispute between the Sonnabend's children and the I.R.S.
posted by R. Mutt at 10:20 AM PST - 91 comments

A Golden Galaxy of Science Fiction

The Library of America recently started an online companion to their 1950s Science Fiction Golden Era collection which includes cover art, interviews with authors and articles by writers on the genre. Previous link on LOA
posted by Isadorady at 10:13 AM PST - 7 comments

ASL performance of 'Who's on First'

'Who's on First', the ASL version (vimeo). A little more on this from NPR, including link to MLB.com video of Jerry Seinfeld's comments on the original skit.
posted by found missing at 9:23 AM PST - 6 comments

The other Göring brother

In downtown Vienna under the Nazis, two members of the SA had decided to humiliate an old woman. A crowd gathered and jeered as the stormtroopers hung a sign bearing the words "I'm a dirty Jew" around the woman's neck. Suddenly, a tall man with a high forehead and thick mustache pushed his way angrily through the mob and freed the woman. "There was a scuffle with two stormtroopers, I hit them and was arrested immediately," the man later said in a matter-of-fact statement. Despite this open act of rebellion, the man was released immediately. He only had to say his name: Albert Göring, brother of Hermann Göring, the commander of the German air force and Hitler's closest confidant.
[more inside]
posted by daisyk at 9:13 AM PST - 31 comments

Live Retro Sci-Fi Radio Comic Book Stage Show

"In a genre of its own—Live-Action Graphic Novel—The Intergalactic Nemesis saga is a hilarious, uplifting adventure of heroes-by-circumstance overcoming impossible odds. But the telling is what makes the experience of The Intergalactic Nemesis so incredibly unique: while three actors, one Foley artist, and one keyboardist perform all the voices, sound effects and music, more than 1,250 hand-drawn, full-color, hi-res, blow-your-mind comic-book images blast from the screen, all performed live." [more inside]
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 6:23 AM PST - 9 comments

To be read as a pair

The Rise of the Internet (Anti) Intellectual
posted by infini at 4:50 AM PST - 73 comments

Only in Israel

The Dealers is a new Israeli crime comedy, released here this weekend. The poster features the film's central players sitting around a table loaded with booze, weed, bongs, joints and other drug paraphernalia. For the stricter populace of Jerusalem, a modified version of the poster was prepared, one which removes all trace of... You guessed it: Women. The pot and booze? Untouched. [more inside]
posted by Silky Slim at 4:24 AM PST - 48 comments

A Conversation With Neesha Meminger and Ibi Zoboi

Two writers discusses race, class, feminism and its intersections in this wide-ranging discussion about what feminism can mean for women of colour. Refreshingly substantive.
posted by smoke at 4:20 AM PST - 20 comments

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