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Jezebel calls the Daily Show a boys club (in part for hiring Olivia Munn). Women on the Daily Show responds. Slate jumps in. (hat tip)
posted by phyrewerx at 11:59 PM PST - 292 comments

The Lucretian swerve: The biological basis of human behavior and the criminal justice system

As de Duve has written, “If … neuronal events in the brain determine behavior, irrespective of whether they are conscious or unconscious, it is hard to find room for free will. But if free will does not exist, there can be no responsibility, and the structure of human societies must be revised”.

Ben Libet & free will, previously on metafilter. (And more on: Lucretius, Dualism, Philosophy of mind, and Free Will ^{1, 2}.)
posted by scalespace at 9:20 PM PST - 100 comments

Marine Safety Specialist Mario Vittone knows what it looks like when someone is drowning, and you probably don't. It's deceptively quiet, undramatic, and happens so fast that bystanders may not even know it's happening. A drowning person's brain kicks into an instinctive mode that prevents yelling for help.
posted by ivey at 9:00 PM PST - 68 comments

Drugs seeped into the band, and were accompanied by an entourage of lowlifes stuck in a dizzying cycle of despair. Theresa was uninterested in the drug world yet she was too afraid to challenge her situation in her role as backup singer and dependent partner of Osborne. After nine turbulent years, the tension came to a head. Theresa had finally decided to confront Osborne about the drugs during a show at the famed Howlin' Wolf in New Orleans. The conversation predictably turned confrontational and with the usual crowd of partygoers surrounding the backstage area, Theresa snapped. She flung her violin through the window of the club. Glass shattered all over the ground and her violin lay broken beyond repair. It was over. Such is the life, death and the rebirth of accomplished violinist and singer,Theresa Andersson's music career. [more inside]
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:31 PM PST - 14 comments

Is James Bond past his sell-by date? What’s the difference between ’suspended indefinitely’ and officially dead? When it comes to James Bond and the planned twenty-third movie featuring the character, it can be difficult to tell. We’ve known for months that EON Productions had suspended development on the film thanks to MGM’s financial troubles, but now there’s a report circulating that the film is officially dead. But is it really? [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 7:43 PM PST - 80 comments

Living with the Enemy. "Applying the ideas of Holocaust survivor Jean Améry to present day Rwanda, our author argues that reconciliation after genocide is just another form of torture."
posted by homunculus at 7:30 PM PST - 27 comments

What warfighters eat. What's healthier. Video is from an all-day seminar at NIH. Start around minute 58 through 1:13 to hear the marine presenting in detail what warfighters currently get to eat -- first hand from the guy who handles supplying them, in detail. Start earlier around minute 12 for what would be better 'nutritional armor' for warfighters (Dr. Bill Land). Many more parts to the presentation. All worthwhile. [more inside]
posted by hank at 6:17 PM PST - 66 comments

"I'm headin' down the Atlanta highway, lookin' for the love getaway." These lyrics to the B-52s' "Love Shack" inspired a lengthy list modestly titled "Some Road Songs." Planning to make a road song mix tape? This is the motherlode. Surprisingly (or not?), the list is hosted on the Federal Highway Administration website. Browsing around the site, you'll also find information on the history of the Interstate System, articles from Public Roads magazine, and a selection of "Back in Time" articles about highway history by Rickie Longfellow. [more inside]
posted by litlnemo at 5:47 PM PST - 43 comments

"This July, while others are relaxing poolside, head back to the classroom - from the comfort of your own home. That may sound like an oxymoron but Glenn's new academic program is only available online."

Glenn Beck University? Yes. Glenn Beck University. [more inside]
posted by mondaygreens at 4:01 PM PST - 119 comments

Order of Tales has ended. However, you can read it in its entirety from the beginning. This follow up to Rice Boy (previously, previouslier) has gorgeous art and an epic story. Action, adventure, beautiful hand-drawn typography. Now we wait for Evan Dahm's next project.
posted by cthuljew at 4:00 PM PST - 13 comments

Secret of AA: After 75 Years, We Don’t Know How It Works. "There is evidence that a big part of AA’s effectiveness may have nothing to do with the actual (12) steps. It may derive from something more fundamental: the power of the group. The importance of this is reflected by the fact that the more deeply AA members commit to the group, rather than just the program, the better they fare." [more inside]
posted by netbros at 3:58 PM PST - 145 comments

Free during the World Cup the IOP (Institute of Physics) has a collection of papers all about football (soccer). Also related is NASA's recent findings regarding the randomness of the new Adidas ball.
posted by ozomatli at 3:55 PM PST - 8 comments

Britain Is Puzzled by Its Inflation Problem in a Downturn. Inflation in Britain is an economic mystery. It seems unique in the Western World which on the whole is closer to the dangers of deflation than inflation. April of this year was particularly bad - in an inflation spike that alarmed Britain, 'British price inflation including housing costs hit a 20-year high of 5.3% in April, sending shockwaves through an economy still struggling to exit recession'. [more inside]
posted by VikingSword at 2:11 PM PST - 49 comments

The Mark of a Masterpiece. The company combined the forensic triumphalism of “C.S.I.” with the lottery ethos of “Antiques Roadshow.”

An in-depth profile of Peter Paul Biro, acclaimed forensic art authenticator featured in the 2006 documentary Who the *$&% Is Jackson Pollock? (previously), professional art restorer, swindler, con man, and art forger.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:34 PM PST - 20 comments

Illusion Illusions
posted by andoatnp at 12:23 PM PST - 39 comments

As Blizzard prepares for the next World of Warcraft expansion, they are updating their server system, BattleNet, to use a real-name identification system called RealID, allowing your friends -- and their friends -- to see your real name. Some like it, some hate it. The system is optional; but today, Blizzard announced that all posts on their official forums will be under the poster's real name. [more inside]
posted by waraw at 10:54 AM PST - 328 comments

Picky Eating might be added to the DSM.
posted by backseatpilot at 9:08 AM PST - 358 comments

On Saturday, Cuba issued an unprecedented public report on the status of an imprisoned dissident. Guillermo Fariñas Hernández began his hunger strike in February, the day after the first Cuban hunger striker death in almost forty years. He is now near death. [more inside]
posted by hat at 8:18 AM PST - 21 comments

He says: "The internet's completely over. I don't see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won't pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can't get it. "The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good."

After releasing Cause & Effect and Hot Summer through his local Minneapolis public radio station, Prince elects to forego official digital release of his new album, "20Ten". Instead, he will give it away through France's Courrier International (July 8), England's Daily Mirror and Scotland's Daily Record (July 10), and Germany's Rolling Stone (July 22), starting this week. [more inside]
posted by hippybear at 8:09 AM PST - 139 comments

A D.C. couple wants children, but not now, and are worried about infertility creeping up on them as they get deeper into their thirties. They came up with a novel solution -- donating frozen embryos to their future selves. The procedure is not uncommon for couples with fertility problems; will it become a popular insurance option for young couples who just aren't ready for kids? They might want to think about what to do if they have more embryos than they want. Or what happens if they get divorced.
posted by escabeche at 8:03 AM PST - 45 comments

Prince and Kelly Clarkson Marry? Idaho No Longer A State? A Pomeranian Blight? Is this flimflamery? No, it is LIE BLOG, a place for lies. [via mefi projects]
posted by The Whelk at 7:31 AM PST - 22 comments

White Sea Black Sea – travels on the Border. [more inside]
posted by chunking express at 7:07 AM PST - 5 comments

Nevertheless, many of the gamers I encounter report the same experience of feeling as if they have engaged in some kind of transgression. There’s often a sense of guilt that comes with tales of gaming exploits, as if games were a vice or a character flaw, a symptom of one kind or another. [...] So my cards are on the table: I’m going to offer some alternative, positive descriptions. This analysis will show how video games have inspired artists, transformed rags into riches, given purpose to empty lives, and entertained bored people on a Sunday afternoon. We’ll see how games turned young people into heroes and how gaming has enabled the realization of previously unimaginable ambitions. We’ll see how games can make us better people, how they dissolve the horrors of boredom—and how they can function as propaganda for a wide range of worthy and unworthy causes.

This Gaming Life by Jim Rossignol (of Rock, Paper, Shotgun) is a book about gaming, gamers, and how they affect each other - available in full and for free under a Creative Commons licence.
posted by Electric Dragon at 5:57 AM PST - 121 comments

This game is about two lovers named January and September. No, wait; it’s about a group of people who don’t believe in the sky. No, it’s about a pantheon of scientific disciplines. Or maybe it’s about an ancient beast who knew exactly when it was going to die, and how. It’s about a place. A place called Looming. [more inside]
posted by juv3nal at 2:41 AM PST - 27 comments