How much difference does $5 make?. Mashup by bertrandom pulls the most recent comments from Metafilter and the comments from the most viewed videos on Youtube and puts them side-by-side for comparison.
posted to MetaTalk by dmd at 10:35 AM on March 24, 2008 (107 comments)

BEKs, "Easter Eggs," The Holders... Welcome to the world of creepypasta -- short, oft-repeated scary stories, anecdotes, and "facts."
posted to MetaFilter by hjo3 at 6:55 PM on December 20, 2007 (43 comments)

Pictures from hitchhiking across America. {via}
posted to MetaFilter by dobbs at 8:31 AM on November 29, 2007 (29 comments)

African American Holocaust [Warning: contains graphic material] Nearly 5,000 black Americans were lynched between 1890 and 1960. In her new book, On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-First Century, University of Maryland School of Law Associate Professor Sherrilyn Ifill traces the ongoing impact of these crimes. While the lynchings were devastating, Professor Ifill argues that the little-known contemporary consequences, such as the marginalization of political and economic development for blacks, are equally pernicious, and that there's still a great deal of education and reconciliation that still needs to happen. [Previous Links]
posted to MetaFilter by psmealey at 3:59 AM on November 6, 2007 (70 comments)

When Ron Paul email spam started hitting inboxes in late October, UAB Computer Forensics Directory Gary Warner published findings on the spam's textual patterns and the illicit botnet used to spread it -- findings which were picked up by media outlets and tech websites like Salon, Ars Technica, and Wired Magazine's "Threat Level" blog, the latter in a set of followup posts by writer Sarah Stirland: 1, 2, 3.
posted to MetaFilter by brownpau at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2007 (306 comments)

Each of the following MySpace Music pages features bios and/or photos and/or videos and/or miscellaneous related materials and/or up to four songs by each of the following Old Time, Traditional, Appalachian folk (and related) artists: Lowe Stokes, Clarence Ashley, Charlie Poole, Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers, Roanoke Jug Band, Roscoe Holcomb, Hobart Smith, The Weems String Band, Burnet & Rutherford, Bascom Lamar Lunsford, John Masters, Dock Boggs, Tampa Joe & Macon Ed, William Stepp, Buddy Thomas, Buell Kazee, Isidore Soucy, John Salyer, Cousin Emmy, Luther Strong, Elizabeth Cotten, Fred Cockerham, G.B. Grayson, Melvin Wine, Lewis Brothers, Uncle Dave Macon, George Lee Hawkins and Wilmer Watts. And here's some general Old Time (etc.) pages, featuring various artists: Dust To Digital, Traditional Music of Beech Mountain and North Carolina Folklife Institute.
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 1:04 AM on October 24, 2007 (17 comments)

Video (8MB, MPEG) of arctic sea ice extent, recorded from January to September 2007. [other formats] This summer a dramatic decrease compared to previous years in the extent of the north pole ice cap was observed. Scientists are freaked out [bugmenot]. This summer, the Northwest Passage was open for a few weeks, allowing three ships to traverse it.
posted to MetaFilter by sergeant sandwich at 2:49 PM on October 12, 2007 (32 comments)

Diableries: bizarre tabletop dioramas of scenes from the life of Satan, made around 1870. [via the nonist]
posted to MetaFilter by mediareport at 6:31 AM on September 20, 2007 (26 comments)

This might lead you to learn to play guitar, to write poems, to sing, or just to watch and listen more intently. Kelly joe Phelps, from washington state, is one of the most beautiful musicians I've ever seen. He's got a great way to play traditionals and his originals are mesmerizing.
posted to MetaFilter by nicolin at 6:52 AM on September 11, 2007 (11 comments)

So this is the year you are going to write that novel eh? You're going to need some tools, and a lot of help. [mi]
posted to MetaFilter by eurasian at 10:05 AM on January 26, 2007 (28 comments)

I'm looking for an inexpensive protective sleeve for a 15" Macbook Pro, with a handle. It will be slipped inside a backpack. Any recommendations? Challenge: Can't be ugly.
posted to Ask Metafilter by floam at 12:59 AM on July 16, 2006 (16 comments)

Finger tapping is a very fast guitar technique in which the picking hand is used to "tap" individual notes on the fretboard, while the fretting hand can either remain stationary or be used to do hammer-ons/pull-offs to create even faster playing. Popularized in rock music by Eddie van Halen (YT, great visual example) in the late 1970's, the technique has become almost essential for speed/metal guitar players. Although finger tapping has been dismissed as "wankery" by some, I think that the intense, jazzy stylings of Stanley Jordan prove them wrong. (here is Stanley playing two guitars!) For more tapping madness you can enjoy the furious, virtuous insanity of Dragonforce (full video), and be sure not to miss the speed genius of Mr. Batio. Tapping isn't just for metal though, you can do it on a bass or an acoustic (amazing video).

Want to learn how? This lesson should get you started.
posted to MetaFilter by baphomet at 3:25 PM on December 21, 2006 (117 comments)

Making an emergency car kit for road trips, especially in winter conditions.

How to travel safely in winter.

What to do if you're lost.

How to survive in the wilderness, according to the US Army. How to build an igloo. How to make emergency snowshoes.

equipped.org reviews personal survival kits, provides the story of five people stranded within sight of one of the US's largest cities, and blogs on the topic of emergency survival. And, last but not least, the equipped.org forums weigh in on the Kim emergency.

Requiescat in pace, James Kim.
posted to MetaFilter by scrump at 7:49 AM on December 7, 2006 (57 comments)

Cocaine: Ever wonder how it's made? Matthew Bristow, a journalist working in Columbia produced two fascinating videos (1 | 2) that detail the job of several actual Columbian producers, without delving too far into the chemistry nonsense: from harmless leaf to unprocessed brick to that familiar white powder. [via]
posted to MetaFilter by cklennon at 6:36 AM on November 28, 2006 (30 comments)

Youtubes of Dawkins lecturing from Lynchburg, VA, reading excerpts from 'The God Delusion' in Pt.1 & an entertaining Q&A session in Pt.2; in related news, Sam Harris elucidates the dangers of religious moderation...
posted to MetaFilter by Rufus T. Firefly at 1:10 PM on November 25, 2006 (250 comments)

Clarence Ashley - The Coo Coo
Skip James - Crow Jane
Howlin' Wolf - How Many More Years
Son House - John the Revelator
Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys - Close By
Houston Stackhouse & Joe Willie Wilkins - Cool Drink Of Water
Muddy Waters - Honey Bee
Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys - Lone Star Rag
Mississipi John Hurt - You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley
Maybelle & Sara Carter - Cannonball Blues
Al Green - Simply Beautiful
Enjoy. Note that, too, save for Mississippi John Hurt, there is more by each of the above artists linked on each clip's page.
The first is via FaheyGuitarPlayers, the rest were all in a day's surf. On dial-up, even.
posted to MetaFilter by y2karl at 12:56 PM on September 20, 2006 (73 comments)

I'm planning a trip to India,Nepal,Bhutan,Tibet,Bangladesh & Myanmar
posted to Ask Metafilter by einarorn at 10:05 AM on July 10, 2006 (17 comments)

We recently saw people playing at being zombies, which is fun and all, but wouldn't you rather kill zombies than be one? I sure as hell would, so there's [more inside]
posted to MetaFilter by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:54 AM on August 24, 2006 (27 comments)

Daniel Raeburn's story about his daughter's still birth is one of the most depressing things I've read in a while. Thankfully, there is a much happier update to the story. (via Kottke)
posted to MetaFilter by chunking express at 8:22 AM on July 11, 2006 (90 comments)

What is this Sketchzilla thing?! It is whatever you want it to be. It's a community art project. It's a funhouse. It's an art gallery. It's a madlib. It's a mad house. It's an html monster. It's a butteryfly ballot. It's the 10 most wanted. It's a flip book. It's noisy. It's the flag of the internet. Oh and it's occasionally NSFW. It is always changing and morphing and mutating in to something new, by you. I can't believe that Sketchzilla was the only surviving member of its species... But if we continue conducting nuclear tests... it's possible that another Sketchzilla might appear somewhere in the world again.
posted to MetaFilter by Sir Mildred Pierce at 10:56 AM on June 14, 2006 (254 comments)