Catchiest pop songs from 1977-1983? I was born too late to grow up with this music, and it was never played on the classic rock stations my parents would listen to. I'm discovering great songs that I've only had a vague awareness of, such as What a fool believes, September, Private Eyes and love the syncopated rhythm and catchy melodies. Would you recommend some others?
posted to Ask Metafilter by parallax7d at 2:53 PM on January 2, 2012 (60 comments)

On the 48th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, filmmaker Errol Morris examines a particularly intriguing figure of conspiracy speculation - "The Umbrella Man".
posted to MetaFilter by Tenacious.Me.Tokyo at 5:30 AM on November 22, 2011 (65 comments)

What are the most reasonable, well-informed, and totally incorrect scientific papers?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Knigel at 5:02 PM on November 19, 2011 (26 comments)

It has been nearly a decade since VH1 cancelled "Pop Up Video," but at noon ET today the show returns with 60 new episodes. Their first video: Britney Spears' Til the World Ends. The program's new incarnation will also allow viewers to DIY their own "pop up" videos and share them on Facebook and Twitter."
posted to MetaFilter by zarq at 8:58 AM on October 3, 2011 (42 comments)

No "He said, she said"
posted to MetaFilter by Jakey at 2:15 PM on September 26, 2011 (25 comments)

Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? "The very act of making decisions depletes our ability to make them well. So how do we navigate a world of endless choice?"
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 10:50 AM on August 20, 2011 (71 comments)

A writer in Slate examines the scientific literature for clues that will help him to write faster.
posted to MetaFilter by chrchr at 11:36 AM on August 11, 2011 (69 comments)

Gary Russo from Queens sings Summer Wind, the Frank Sinatra classic, on his break from helping build the 2nd Avenue subway. (Here's Sinatra singing it.)
posted to MetaFilter by mark7570 at 10:12 AM on August 3, 2011 (22 comments)

In 1979, the producers of "Taxi" were hot, and got carte blanche to make another sitcom for ABC. So they adapted John Jay Osborn's novel "The Associates"*, his follow-up to "The Paper Chase" (which, as a TV series, had just been cancelled by CBS) about young lawyers at a prestigious New York firm. It starred a very young Martin Short as a very young (and surprisingly normal) Junior Associate, Wilfred Hyde-White as a very old Senior Partner and some other folks you may or may not recognize. It bombed. But the next-to-last episode to be aired before the plug was pulled was something you would never expect any broadcast network in 1980 (or maybe even now) to show, in which young lawyer Short represented a network against a rebellious producer, titled "The Censors". And yes, that is John Ritter as a Hollywood actor in character.
Bonus content: "The Associates" pilot episode in two parts. via the world-class blog by Ken Levine of M*A*S*H, Cheers and the Seattle Mariners
* TOTALLY not related to John Grisham's "The Associate"
posted to MetaFilter by oneswellfoop at 6:24 PM on August 3, 2011 (15 comments)

Tomorrow evening, at roughly 9:50 in the evening GMT, marks the first anniversary (more or less) of the discovery of Neptune.
posted to MetaFilter by Dim Siawns at 9:56 AM on July 10, 2011 (35 comments)

The past century . . . is rich with examples, both poignant and tragic, of technological possibilities not realized. On 1 September 1939, a decision was . . . taken by our species to spend five trillion dollars and expend ~72 million human lives. This decision was followed in 1947, and repeated at intervals until 1991, to expend an additional ~12 trillion dollars, and perhaps another 1-2 million human lives. . . . In the midst of the first of these costly escapades, on 15 March, 1944, the architect of the German V-2 rocket, Wernher von Braun, was arrested by the Gestapo on charges of high treason for having privately expressed regret, after dinner at a colleague’s home one evening the previous October, that he and his team were not working on a spaceship . . .

From a wide-ranging essay by Mike Darwin on the future that wasn’t. (Note: Site doesn't seem to display properly in Internet Explorer)
posted to MetaFilter by Jasper Friendly Bear at 11:14 PM on June 7, 2011 (47 comments)

The three longest-running scientific experiments are all located in the foyers of physics buildings. The oldest is the Oxford Electric Bell, which has been ringing continuously (over ten billion times!) since at least 1840, powered by batteries of unknown composition. In Dunedin, New Zealand, the Beverley clock has operated since 1864, without the need for winding, as it is powered by atmospheric changes. The relative youngster in the group is the Pitch Drop Experiment, which has been measuring the viscosity of pitch since 1927 by recording the time between drops of pitch from a funnel. The experiments has the world's most boring webcam, though the eighth, and most recent, drop fell in 2000, so the next is due any day now! Atlas Obscura has some additional candidates for long experiments, including the Rothemstead Plots, which have been used in agricultural experiments for 300 years.
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 6:56 PM on June 6, 2011 (33 comments)

Infinity Blade is an iOS game available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It is typically seen as a send-up of the classic game Punch-Out!! mashed up with roleplaying game conventions such as experience points and character-modifying equipment. Its defining trait is that it relies upon new game+ to advance your character (actually your character's family/bloodline) and the story. J. Nicholas Geist over at Kill Screen has written a review to match the game.
posted to MetaFilter by curious nu at 1:45 PM on May 20, 2011 (43 comments)

I always loved the Quincy Jones-composed theme song to 70s sitcom Sanford and Son, but up until a few minutes ago I'd never heard the entire piece: three minutes and six seconds of delightfully infectious, playfully bright instrumental pop-funk. It's called The Streetbeater, and its creative and ever-changing arrangement includes snippets of the rarely heard bass harmonica. The piece is just a hella lotta fun.
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 7:04 AM on May 6, 2011 (70 comments)

Jorge Luis Borges delivers the Norton lectures at Harvard, 1968: The Riddle of Poetry :: The Metaphor :: A Poet's Creed
posted to MetaFilter by puny human at 1:47 PM on April 28, 2011 (17 comments)

The Ship Captain’s Medical Guide. The Ship Captain’s Medical Guide is intended primarily for use on ships where no doctor is carried and it is necessary for laymen to assess and treat injuries and to diagnose and treat ill health. The Guide can also be recommended for use in other situations where professional medical advice is not readily available, for example on expeditions.
posted to MetaFilter by leigh1 at 8:42 AM on April 7, 2011 (35 comments)

It's that time of year again! Time to vote for the 2011 Name of the Year! This year's contestants include such heavyweights as Col. Many-Bears Grinder, Ebenezer Noonoo, Yolanda Supersad, RexAchilles Imperial, and La'Peaches Pitts.
posted to MetaFilter by eugenen at 2:08 PM on April 5, 2011 (61 comments)

How can life be made more like games?
posted to Ask Metafilter by philipy at 11:32 AM on April 1, 2011 (34 comments)

This year marks a decade of Strong Bad Emails, sent from Strong Bad's desk. Next to his computer sits a box of floppy discs, often displaying game titles. If you missed those titles, the detail-oriented Homestar Runner wiki (previously) provides game titles, summaries, and links. Many of the games are old computer games like Rise of the Dragon or Miner 2049er, and some titles are linked to Lord_Pall's revived Home of the Underdogs abandonware game archive. Other games have links to the Videlectrix catalog, where you can see box art and play some demos. Or you can go back to the Homestar Runner wiki, and go to the list of playable Videlectrix titles, like 50k Racewalker (play online) Polulation: Tire (play online) or Peasant's Quest (play online) (More previous stuff: Peasant's Quest and Where's An Egg?).
posted to MetaFilter by filthy light thief at 2:24 PM on April 1, 2011 (83 comments)

What's in Spock's Scanner - Part 1
posted to MetaFilter by Daddy-O at 10:51 PM on March 10, 2011 (24 comments)

Competitive Googling: Is there such a thing?
posted to Ask Metafilter by curuinor at 5:01 PM on February 28, 2011 (19 comments)

'Analysis: Texas vs California: A tale of two budget deficits'. 'Texas Governor Rick Perry treated guests to a barbecue lunch paid for by a wealthy businessman. Supporters of California Governor Jerry Brown munched on hot dogs at a union-sponsored picnic. The stark contrast in inaugural menus last month highlights the different approaches the two most populous U.S. states are taking to deal with massive budget deficits. Perry, a Republican, campaigned on the strength of the Texas economy and made political hay of the fact the Lone Star state had avoided California's massive deficit, pegged at $25.4 billion through the upcoming budget year. Now Texas faces a budget deficit estimated as high as $27 billion for the upcoming two-year cycle of 2012-2013. To close the gap, state legislators have proposed steep cuts in funding to education and welfare programs.'
posted to MetaFilter by VikingSword at 3:29 PM on February 7, 2011 (74 comments)

Best tasting whey protein powder?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Kalatraz at 11:35 AM on February 6, 2011 (13 comments)

Those of you who keep your carbohydrate intake low: what are your go-to simple meals and snacks? Even better if it's easy to make ahead, to take to work, or to find when you're on the road.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sister nunchaku of love and mercy at 10:17 AM on February 2, 2011 (35 comments)

How would the Earth look if it had a ring system like Saturn?
posted to MetaFilter by DU at 8:44 AM on November 20, 2009 (123 comments)

"Five orphans with a spacecraft battle a lipsticked maniac from the Crab Nebula and his unlikely big flying robots. No one gets hurt."

In 1972, the anime action-adventure show Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman,) premiered on Japanese television. Featuring graphic violence, extensive profanity and a transgendered villain, it was one of the most popular animated series of its time. Envisioning similar success in the US, Sandy Frank Entertainment acquired the series in 1978 but deemed it too graphic and shocking for domestic audiences. So they hired two Hanna-Barbera vets to "re-version" totally bowdlerize the episodes with new scripts, voiceovers music and effects, animation, etc., at a cost of $5 million and turn it into a brand new show: Battle of the Planets. Here are the original 1978 Battle of the Planets feature film (in 7 parts,) and the first 19 episodes of the show, all available on Youtube.
posted to MetaFilter by zarq at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2011 (61 comments)

My six-year old daughter demands to be told of the world's real mysteries! I've exhausted those I know from the top of my head, like the Mary Celeste, the Antikythera mechanism and those vent channels in the pyramids. I'd like your help, because I'd like to stay fact-based, and Google feeds me an endless supply of conspiracies, UFOs and paranormal phenomena. Solved mysteries are also good, as we can speculate and then "cheat" and look at the answer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Harald74 at 2:17 AM on January 10, 2011 (72 comments)

I want to build some kind of simple hardware/software "thing" using Phidgets or Arduino, those systems that have RFID, sensors of various sorts (light, noise, etc.) , LEDs, and analog buttons, dials, GPS receivers, etc. I'm having trouble coming up with a somewhat simple, cool little experiment that is inspiring enough to spend the time doing. Got any ideas for me?
posted to Ask Metafilter by drinkspiller at 11:46 AM on October 7, 2010 (4 comments)

Everybody knows TVTropes is the best and most time-killing-est way to learn about the clichés and archetypes that permeate modern media. But dear reader, there is so much more. Enter Useful Notes. Originally created as a place for tropers to pool factual information as a writing aid, the subsite has quietly grown into a small wiki of its own -- a compendium of crowdsourced wisdom on a staggering array of topics, all written in the site's signature brand of lighthearted snark. Though it reads like an irreverent and informal Wikipedia, its articles act as genuinely useful primers to complex and obscure topics alike, all in service of the project's five goals: "To debunk common media stereotypes; to help you understand some media better; to educate, inform and sometimes entertain; to promote peace and understanding (maybe); and... to facilitate world domination." Sounds about right. Click inside for bountiful highlights... if you dare.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 11:00 AM on December 26, 2010 (43 comments)

Google Maps and Label Readability. No really, it's an interesting read.
posted to MetaFilter by azarbayejani at 2:33 PM on December 2, 2010 (32 comments)

An RC flight around lower New York City Featuring nice, close passes of the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.
posted to MetaFilter by rouftop at 2:21 PM on December 2, 2010 (39 comments)

Perhaps Rochester, New Hampshire isn't the most exciting place on Earth, but that doesn't stop whomever writes the police log.
• 3:12 p.m. — On Winter Street by Fisher fields, two boys battle, neither yields. But a crowd and both the bruisers, disappear before the cruisers.
• 10:32 p.m. — On Tonka Street, a woman asks a neighbor if he needs "to light up" his old Camaro every night as it shakes her trailer. His answer appears to be in the affirmative
• 4:30 p.m. — A pit bull's on the Common, when no dog should ever be
• 5:36 p.m. — Screams erupt on Lafayette, with tinkling glass. A fight? You bet.
posted to MetaFilter by yerfatma at 10:47 AM on November 20, 2010 (59 comments)

Rejection Therapy is the real life game with one rule: YOU MUST BE REJECTED BY ANOTHER PERSON AT LEAST ONCE, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
posted to MetaFilter by DarlingBri at 2:13 PM on November 3, 2010 (63 comments)

462 feet above Seattle, a family has transformed the top of the Smith Tower into their rather fantastic residence. Slideshow here.
posted to MetaFilter by disillusioned at 2:15 AM on October 25, 2010 (112 comments)

"If you want to marry a show, I'll marry you." Jimmy McMillan, of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, steals the show at an NY gubernatorial debate.
posted to MetaFilter by Rory Marinich at 8:05 PM on October 18, 2010 (81 comments)

Last.fm Listing History via LastGraph As Wall Decoration - Andy took his LastFM listening history, rendered it via LastGraph as PDF document and created some stunishing simple and yet beautiful wall decoration for his home. [original text is german - read a google translated version here]
posted to MetaFilter by misterhonk at 10:05 AM on October 17, 2010 (19 comments)

Sorry I Haven't Posted: Inspiring Apologies From Today's World Wide Web. [Via]
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 12:15 PM on September 14, 2010 (33 comments)

I just read that Archie Manning could throw a football from one end of an end zone to the other, and that JaMarcus Russell can throw 75 yards while on one knee. What other amazing sport-specific skills do you know about?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ORthey at 10:47 PM on October 11, 2010 (30 comments)

Web Design Ledger is a publication written by web designers for web designers. The primary purpose of the site is to act as a platform for sharing web design related knowledge and resources. Topics range from design inspiration to tips and tutorials and everything in between.
posted to MetaFilter by netbros at 4:42 PM on October 11, 2010 (15 comments)

I'm looking for an image of a ridiculously over-the-top complicated control panel. The more knobs, switches, dials, buttons, gauges, etc, the better.
posted to Ask Metafilter by madmethods at 11:15 AM on October 3, 2010 (21 comments)

Star Wars - '77 - '80 Collector's Blog. "I have a passion for collecting vintage Star Wars merchandise from the late 70's. Action figures, comics, trading cards etc - anything related to the first Star Wars movie. But why only until 1980? It's not that I don't love The Empire Strikes Back and beyond (I really do), but there is something about that first wave of Star Wars mania that really grips me, back when it was all fresh and exciting..."
posted to MetaFilter by Fizz at 6:36 PM on September 28, 2010 (44 comments)

How many human societies in recent history, if any, have been reliably reported to have no belief in the link between sex and conception, or the link between fathers and children?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Countess Elena at 6:47 PM on October 2, 2010 (13 comments)

MeFi favorites Ben Folds and Nick Hornby have recorded an album together: Lonely Avenue.
posted to MetaFilter by Potomac Avenue at 7:42 AM on September 27, 2010 (14 comments)

Red Gummy Bear + Potassium Chlorate = SHINY BRIGHT EXPLODING FUN. [SLYT]
posted to MetaFilter by Fizz at 1:11 PM on September 25, 2010 (56 comments)

"If there were any justice in the world the Greek bankers would be in the streets marching to protest the morals of the ordinary Greek citizen." Michael Lewis investigates Greece's economy. "In Greece the banks didn’t sink the country. The country sank the banks." In this terrific Vanity Fair piece, Michael Lewis visits Greece and examines a country where the general sense of civil society and trust has broken down, allowing mismanagement of the country's finances and economy on an unbelievably massive scale.
posted to MetaFilter by Bwithh at 4:56 PM on September 7, 2010 (69 comments)

I would like to make a mix of "post grunge" modern rock type music. Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ND¢ at 6:36 PM on July 26, 2007 (71 comments)

Kristin Hersh is well-known to many as a founder of legendary 80s indy/alt band Throwing Muses, as well as for her own successful solo albums and alt-punk 3-piece band 50 Foot Wave, is having a good 2010. A new solo album, Crooked, is due out later this year -- a follow-up to the collection Speedbath, which was released on the web under a Creative Commons license, and demos for a forthcoming new Throwing Muses collection have been appearing on the band's CASH page (previously); Crooked has also appeared in the UK in book format through HarperCollins' Friday Project imprint. A nice additional tidbit for fans is the just-released live collection, Cats and Mice. As if all that wasn't enough, stories that Kristin came up with for her sons while they accompanied her on tour over the years inspired a children's book, Toby Snax, published in 2007, and Hersh will be publishing a memoir, Rat Girl (Paradoxical Undressing, in the UK edition) detailing her early days with Throwing Muses -- a time in which she struggled with mental illness and figured out what it meant to front a touring rock band while pregnant (excerpts of Rat Girl arrived in periodic email installments to Hersh's subscription supporters, whose support has enabled much of Hersh's current productivity). Hersh has been taking advantage of various social media as well: you can follow her doing in the Throwingmusic fan forums, Facebook, or via her often-curious Twitter feed.
posted to MetaFilter by aught at 12:40 PM on July 14, 2010 (30 comments)

In the months preceding the release of The Empire Strikes Back, a telephone hotline was set up to allow callers to dial in and hear teasers for the movie. In the years since the Bantha Tracks story, fans savvy to the existence of the "Empire Hotline" have sought out recordings of the messages, performed exclusively for the hotline by actors Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), and James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader). Thanks to Craig Miller, Lucasfilm's first director of fan relations, these long-lost recordings can now be heard and enjoyed for the first time in 30 years.
posted to MetaFilter by albrecht at 11:17 AM on June 29, 2010 (55 comments)

Originally the lead singer of Morcheeba, Skye Edwards has released two solo albums: Mind How You Go in 2006, and Keeping Secrets in 2009.
posted to MetaFilter by hopeless romantique at 4:18 PM on June 13, 2010 (15 comments)

Mendeley is a cross-platform research management tool which features article databasing, PDF annotation, online backup, private, shared and public collections, metadata lookup on Google Scholar, direct exporting of multiple citation styles to Word, OpenOffice and BibTex, the ability to add documents directly from a web browser, and social networking with other members in your field of study. Like Zotero (previously), but out of the browser and with note-taking abilities. For Windows, Mac and Linux.
posted to MetaFilter by l33tpolicywonk at 8:30 PM on June 11, 2010 (27 comments)