Salvador Dali and Walt Disney collaborated in 1946 on the short animation Destino. Disney had concerns about some of the graphics and it was never released. Lost for 56 years, it was restored in 2003 and has not yet been released for wholesale distribution. Tommorrow is your last chance to see it at the Dali and Film exhibit at the Tate Gallery. Previously.
posted to MetaFilter by Xurando at 1:43 PM on September 8, 2007 (26 comments)

The black backs by and on which the fortunes of the New South were built:

On March 30, 1908, Green Cottenham was arrested by the sheriff of Shelby County, Alabama, and charged with “vagrancy.”... Cottenham’s offense was blackness.... [After a brief trial] Cottenham... was sold. Under a standing arrangement between the county and a vast subsidiary of the industrial titan of the North — U.S. Steel Corporation — the sheriff turned the young man over to the company for the duration of his sentence.... he was chained inside a long wooden barrack at night and required to spend nearly every waking hour digging and loading coal. His required daily “task” was to remove eight tons of coal from the mine. Cottenham was subject to the whip for failure to dig the requisite amount, at risk of physical torture for disobedience, and vulnerable to the sexual predations of other miners.... Forty-five years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freeing American slaves, Green Cottenham and more than a thousand other black men toiled under the lash at Slope 12.

— from the Introduction to Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black People in America from the Civil War to World War II. The book's website includes reviews of the book, an excerpt of the Introduction, and an extensive photo gallery that includes disturbing images of enslaved and tortured prisoners.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:12 AM on June 21, 2008 (99 comments)

Last night, I spent an hour reading the crazy, hilarious stories posted here. One hour was not enough. I need more davesecretaryatwork - or at least, more like him.
posted to Ask Metafilter by yeoja at 9:49 AM on May 19, 2008 (23 comments)

"But What About Us? Student Photographs from the Corridor of Shame" is a traveling photography exhibit that follows up on “Corridor of Shame: the neglect of South Carolina's rural schools" [wmv], a 58 minute documentary that tells the story of the challenges faced in funding an adequate education in South Carolina's rural school districts. The documentary tracks the evidence presented on behalf of eight school districts in Abbeville County School District v. The State of South Carolina [pdf]. The exhibit is a powerful demonstration to the needs still unmet in South Carolina's rural schools. Only five pictures and captions are on the website now, but most of the pictures appear inside with permission from the copyright holder.
posted to MetaFilter by ND¢ at 6:12 PM on May 10, 2006 (28 comments)

The shadowy back alleys of MetaFilter...
posted to MetaTalk by carsonb at 6:21 AM on January 12, 2008 (125 comments)

I just finished Cave Story and loved every minute of it. What are some other exemplary free indie games?
posted to Ask Metafilter by archagon at 5:52 PM on July 13, 2007 (10 comments)

How do I work as little and as flexibly as possible, and yet earn enough money to live?
posted to Ask Metafilter by 6am at 5:32 PM on June 23, 2007 (29 comments)

Are there other online communities like MeFi Music, where people can post songs and get feedback?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ORthey at 10:24 AM on June 19, 2007 (11 comments)

Bisexual, but Only on the Internet : Could this be a new 21st century version of LUGs and hasbians?
posted to MetaFilter by grapefruitmoon at 7:12 PM on May 27, 2007 (72 comments)

Woodstock^ (YouTuner)
Day ☼ { Richie Havens ♪ Country Joe McDonald ♪ John Sebastian ♪ Sweetwater ♭ Incredible String Band ♪ Bert Sommer ♭ Tim Hardin ♪ Ravi Shankar ♭ Melanie ♪ Arlo Guthrie ♪ Joan Baez ♪ }
Day ☼☼ { Quill ♪ Keef Hartley Band ♭ Santana ♪ Canned Heat ♪ Mountain ♪ Janis Joplin ♪ ♫ Sly & the Family Stone ♪ Grateful Dead ♪ Creedence Clearwater Revival ♪ The Who ♪ ☻ ♫ Jefferson Airplane ♪ ♫ }
Day ☼☼☼ { Joe Cocker ♪ Country Joe & the Fish ♪ Ten Years After ♪ The Band ♪ Blood Sweat & Tears ♪ Johnny Winter ♪ Crosby, Stills & Nash ♪ ♬ ♫ Paul Butterfield Blues Band ♪ Sha-Na-Na ♪ Jimi Hendrix ♪ ★ ♫ }

posted to MetaFilter by pruner at 6:20 AM on May 15, 2007 (50 comments)

"A language is a dialect with an army and navy":
A linguistic summery of African American Vernacular English also known as Ebonics. (Mostly framed through the lense of a Nationwide debate on the subject sparked 10 years ago by the Oakland School Board.) previously...
posted to MetaFilter by serazin at 10:42 PM on February 28, 2007 (48 comments)

"Ben Barres's work is much better than his sister's," one scientist remarked to another. The only problem is that Ben Barres and his “sister” Barbara Barres were the same person. An FTM transsexual offers a unique view of the impact of gender discrimination in science, having seen it from both sides. Despite the fact that recent studies have shown that a woman has to be 2.5 times as productive to be judged as scientifically competant as a man in the sciences, many still argue that there is actually a level playing field, a source of some frustration for many women in the field. (For a somewhat easier to read and referenced response to the Physics Today letters, check out Evalyn Gates’ reply at the end.)
posted to MetaFilter by kyrademon at 2:14 AM on January 10, 2007 (87 comments)

Most interesting poetry which makes use found or appropriated language?
posted to Ask Metafilter by sleevener at 5:21 PM on January 5, 2007 (15 comments)

-cognition, -data, -del.icio.us, -ethics, -fiction, -film, -filter, -gaming, -joke, -language, -mathematics, -meta, -music, -physics, -sports, -talk, -television, -verse
posted to MetaFilter by themadjuggler at 1:34 PM on December 31, 2006 (45 comments)

The Zero Saga contains a great deal of information about the concept of zero, and its relation to other numbers and concepts in mathematics. It was linked in Good Math, Bad Math; which contains a variety of other informative articles on the numbers that capture our imaginations. (Note: You may want to skip past part 4 of the Zero Saga, as it contains replies to the site, and as such should probably be at the bottom of the page. But, to compensate, the comments on Good Math are better than most blogs I've read.)
posted to MetaFilter by Eideteker at 6:39 AM on August 3, 2006 (11 comments)

Well, no need to wait any longer. We have a winner....
[lots more inside]
posted to MetaTalk by anastasiav at 7:32 PM on August 2, 2005 (36 comments)

I just finished Rebecca Goldstein's (excellent) book Incompleteness. If I'm understanding this correctly, Godel's theorems were instrumental in ending logical postitivism, by showing that the movement could never produce a mathematical system which defines arithmetic while being complete and self-consistent. So what about Intuitionism? Isn't that nominalist as well, and subject to the same logical inconsistencies? How do they answer this? (Also, any relevant book suggestions would be appreciated)
posted to Ask Metafilter by rottytooth at 7:10 AM on July 14, 2006 (18 comments)

Teenage Hoboes in the Great Depression. During the Great Depression over 250,000 young people left home and began riding freight trains or hitchhiking across America. Most of them were between 16 and 25 years of age. Many finally found work and shelter through the Civilian Conservation Corps, a government relief project that Franklin D. Roosevelt established in 1933 as part of the New Deal. From 1933 to 1942, CCC enrollees built new roads, strung telephone wires, erected fire towers, and planted approximately 3 billion trees. By 1935, the program was providing employment for more than 500,000 young men.
posted to MetaFilter by matteo at 7:45 AM on July 7, 2006 (25 comments)

Aerial Propaganda Leaflet Database. Propaganda from WWI to Operation Iraqi Freedom, including many safe conduct passes. Also, leaflets from the Korean War & Vietnam, Sefton Delmer's "Black Propaganda Radio, and even some NSFW (work, not war) propaganda. Come On Boys, Himmler For President!
posted to MetaFilter by armage at 2:01 PM on March 9, 2005 (6 comments)

Ah, those long hot sticky days of Summertime, waking up hung over and stumbling bleary-eyed through breakfast at one PM before dragging your alcohol-bruised body outside and collapsing in a deck chair beside the overflowing ashtrays and empty pizza boxes while the neighbors’ air conditioner hums and cats prowl through the backyard grass... and your buddy hands you a can of sorta-cold beer still dripping with melted cooler ice from the night before and someone else lights a cigarette and everyone stares straight ahead at nothing, totally dazed, eyes squinting in the afternoon sun... yeah.
posted to MeFi Music by Fuzzy Monster at 8:14 AM on June 30, 2006 (6 comments)

Nothing is funnier than an academic or scientist explaining humor.
posted to MetaFilter by Falconetti at 8:54 PM on December 11, 2005 (10 comments)

How do current feminists connect with the issues raised by the Second Wave? Feminist bloggers respond to Carol Hanisch, author of the 1970 essay The Personal Is Political [pdf]. In her new introduction, she writes, "But they belittled us no end for trying to bring our so-called 'personal problems' into the public arena... Our demands that men share the housework and childcare were likewise deemed a personal problem between a woman and her individual man. The opposition claimed if women would just 'stand up for themselves' and take more responsibility for their own lives, they wouldn't need to have an independent movement for women’s liberation." In response, the 17th Carnival of Feminists includes posts addressing how the internet can be a consciousness-raising medium, why we blame individual women for making "bad" decisions rather than blaming a system that forces them to choose, whether women should shut up and go with the flow as Democrats marginalize us in order to win elections, and what "the personal is political" might actually mean. (Many many many other great posts linked from Bitch|Lab on other feminist topics, too.)
posted to MetaFilter by occhiblu at 1:08 PM on June 24, 2006 (133 comments)

What is ubiquitous computing or "ubicomp," other than a geeky buzz-phrase for smart objects, "things that think"? In his provocative new book Everyware (freely excerpted here and here), interface designer and MeFite Adam Greenfield provides a thoughtful meditation on one of the digital world's most resonant hopes for the future, encompassing everything from pervasive RFID-chipping, Orwellian surveillance, and a humbly practical magic wand to a "coming age of calm technology."
posted to MetaFilter by digaman at 10:16 AM on June 19, 2006 (29 comments)

Recycled Robots, hand-made from scavenged parts. Robots, robots, more robots, and their pets. And where there are robots, rest assured, there will be rayguns. (via the eminently readable Drawn!)
posted to MetaFilter by Gamblor at 8:59 AM on May 12, 2006 (14 comments)

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is pumping out a pile of podcasts that have covered the importance of offensive comics to Art Spiegelman, 600 bands over 54 shows, Captain America versus the American government, Amy Sedaris and geekdom, the journey of young immigrants, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut and Harper's publisher John MacArthur discussing Europe and America perspectives since 9/11, the after life, sex with monkeys, what radio producers do, the french word "corps", Bonnie Fuller's "The Joys of Much Too Much: Go For the Big Life — The Great Career, The Perfect Guy, and Everything Else You've Ever Wanted (Even If You're Afraid You Don't Have What It Takes)", Veteran Washington reporter Helen Thomas and some other bits & bobs [Breakdown inside]
posted to MetaFilter by boost ventilator at 5:44 AM on June 5, 2006 (25 comments)

GAM3R 7H30RY is an online book in progress about computer games. With subjects such as The Sims as allegory for everyday life in gamespace and GTA: Vice City as utopia (or not), GAM3R 7H30RY tries to answer two questions: 1) Can we explore games as allegories for the world we live in? 2) Can there be a critical theory of games?
posted to MetaFilter by sveskemus at 2:35 AM on June 4, 2006 (52 comments)

"Brands are an important influence on our lives. They are central to free markets and democratic societies. They represent free choice. They also have a profound impact on our quality of life and the way we see our world. They color our lives. They reflect the values of our societies. Global brands can even embody the spirit of many nations, if not the spirit of an age. Most importantly, strong brands bestow value far beyond the performance of the products themselves. Brands that do this possess an idea worthy of consumer loyalty. The more inspiring the idea, the more intense and profound the commitment. And the more the consumer believes in the brand, the more value the brand returns to its owner."
posted to MetaFilter by j-urb at 10:53 PM on June 5, 2006 (53 comments)

Merry Christmas! Santa knows if you've been bad or good. The U.S. Department of Transportation wants to know where you're driving. Where you're driving, right this very minute, tracking you in real-time using GPS. If the GPS signal is obstructed, your car's engine will turn off, Citizen!
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 9:04 PM on December 24, 2005 (97 comments)

I'm getting pretty tired of hearing the line "if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about" in regards to what's happening right now in Washington. I've heard some long articulate responses to this, but what's a good one or two sentence response that succinctly points out the error in this line of thinking?
posted to Ask Metafilter by WetherMan at 10:18 AM on June 1, 2006 (56 comments)

Modern contract law, which frames and defines our modern economy, is shaped by old and rather mundane disputes. Consider some of the seminal cases: Hadley v. Baxendale (1854); Hamer v. Sidway (1891); Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. (1892); Mills v. Wyman (1825). These cases, while minor in their actual factual footprint, still shape the world of contracts over a century later. (more about the cases inside)
posted to MetaFilter by dios at 11:30 AM on May 25, 2006 (32 comments)

Defend DeLay (link to embedded video). Tom DeLay needs your help to fend off the rabid liberal media. He appreciates the fact that Stephen Colbert is doing his part by taking on Robert Greenwald, maker of the upcoming "The Big Buy: Tom Delay's Stolen Congress" and previously "Outfoxed." (via)
posted to MetaFilter by bardic at 4:42 PM on May 24, 2006 (62 comments)

Where can I find more writing about metaphor? I vaguely remember reading something about how, when machines became ubiquitous, people began understanding their lives in terms of machines. I'm looking for that sort of thing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Aghast. at 6:22 PM on May 19, 2006 (21 comments)

What's the next step in collective intelligence?
posted to Ask Metafilter by scalefree at 7:49 AM on May 19, 2006 (20 comments)

Discovering Chylum: Swarthmore Professor David Harrison traveled to Siberia to learn about Chulym, a previously undiscovered local language that reflects its population's culture of hunting, animastic belief system, and bear worship. [More Inside]
posted to MetaFilter by gregb1007 at 6:36 AM on May 21, 2006 (17 comments)

Hilarious website showing one mans passion for drawing conservative themed art. The real gems are in the archive. My personal favorites include "Team W" and these creepy Reagan ghost ones [1] [2]. Don't forget his epic comic The Patriot.
posted to MetaFilter by DougieZero1982 at 7:57 AM on May 18, 2006 (59 comments)

Writing has been around for a long time, but that doesn't mean we've mastered it yet. Want to make fiction? Perhaps it makes itself, perhaps it makes you... Self reference breeding infinite hyperrealities. Which world will you choose?
posted to MetaFilter by 0bvious at 6:27 PM on May 10, 2006 (9 comments)

Spectacular atmospheric optics.
Beautiful pictures of atmospheric phenomena, common and rare. You can also run your own halo simulations if you like... (Found in New Scientist's Weblinks, an extensive, annotated collection of all kinds of science links from all over the web.)
posted to MetaFilter by talos at 5:23 AM on September 12, 2002 (13 comments)

RobotFilter: Korea Unveils World's Second Android (YouTube), China manufactures personal robot, Japan's domestic robot, Why the Japanese want their robots to act more like humans. Robot runs over water, robotic tentacle (mpeg), 'baby' robot learns like a human (avi 1,2), Pill-sized intenstinal robot, speedy robot, spider robots. Lego Unveils NXT Robotics Toolset, Lego robot plays Super Mario Bros, Connect Four, solves Rubik's Cube. Building an army of robots, Big Dog, (wmv), Robots break Asimov’s first law. [more inside]
posted to MetaFilter by MetaMonkey at 7:06 PM on May 11, 2006 (14 comments)

"One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night" An example of nonsense?
posted to MetaFilter by ozomatli at 2:50 PM on May 8, 2006 (56 comments)