WritingFilter: Got the urge to write, but not sure what to write about? Want to practice your freewriting skills? Try these short story idea generators.
posted by Ziggy Zaga at 8:49 PM Jul 8 2009 - 30 comments [86 favorites]

By popular demand, your new resident marine biology nerd has compiled some cool information about the Giant Pacific Octopus.The Giant Pacific Octopus (Octopus dofleini) is one of the strangest animals in the sea- and one of the smartest. Though it is commonly believed that vertebrates are always "smarter" than invertebrates, these guys defy that convention. As this video shows, they are able to easily open jars and retrieve food from inside. They are also, as the "Giant" implies, enormous- the biggest one on record was 30 feet across (according to National Geographic)
posted by WhySharksMatter at 6:57 PM Jul 6 2009 - 140 comments [77 favorites]

Z҉A҉L҉G҉O̚̕̚ [nsfIa!ia!Cthulhufhtagn.n.....nn../
posted by Avenger at 3:37 AM Jul 6 2009 - 163 comments [74 favorites]

Every episode of Cowboy Bebop.

The Cowboy Bebop movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
posted by educatedslacker at 7:50 PM Jul 7 2009 - 58 comments [69 favorites]

She did all things enthusiastically, but nothing well. A self-penned obit by someone you may wish you had known.
posted by Faze at 7:01 AM Jul 6 2009 - 36 comments [61 favorites]

Sarah Palin will resign from her position as Alaska Governor. ;-)
posted by Stewriffic at 12:58 PM Jul 3 2009 - 1308 comments [58 favorites]

How I lost my health insurance at the hairstylist's is one story among millions about the insanity of US health care. 59% of the American public and 59% of physicians support single-payer national health insurance, but in a recent prime time town-hall meeting on health reform proposals, ABC did not air a single question about single-payer. HELP is on the way. At a HELP hearing on single-payer, Kucinich pwned a doctor who claimed Canadian health care was worse than the US's.
posted by shetterly at 10:12 AM Jul 8 2009 - 510 comments [54 favorites]

Some funny drawings.
posted by DU at 5:19 AM Jul 7 2009 - 34 comments [42 favorites]

Operation Midnight Climax is a new web series about how the CIA used prostitutes to test LSD on unsuspecting American citizens. "Operation Midnight Climax was a CIA mind-control research program that began in the 1950's. The project consisted of CIA-run safehouses in San Francisco, Marin and New York. It was established in order to study the effects of LSD on unconsenting individuals. Prostitutes on the CIA payroll were instructed to lure clients back to the safehouses, where they were given a wide range of substances, including LSD, and monitored behind two-way mirrors." [Via]
posted by homunculus at 10:00 AM Jul 4 2009 - 71 comments [38 favorites]

Home Movie Reconstructions 1974 / 2004 MeFi's own dziga takes family movies from 1974, revisits the locations 30 years later with the same people doing the same things. Amazing. [via mefi projects]
posted by mathowie at 3:03 PM Jul 9 2009 - 25 comments [37 favorites]

Why chicks cry. Images of women and girls crying, taken from DC romance comics 1957 to 1968.
posted by paduasoy at 3:52 PM Jul 5 2009 - 43 comments [36 favorites]

Amabil amico, Con grand satisfaction mi ha lect tei letter de le mundolingue. Arika Okrent, author of the new book In The Land of Invented Languages, lists 500 constructed languages, from the well-known (Esperanto, Volapuk, Loglan) to the utterly obscure (Neulatein, Rosentalographia, Mundolingue.) MetaFilter's own languagehat reviews the book. Okrent writes about Klingonophones in Slate. Alternatively, you might choose to learn not to speak Esperanto. Previously on MetaFilter, all you wanted to know about Loglan/Lojban but were too syntactically ambiguous to ask.
posted by escabeche at 3:03 PM Jul 7 2009 - 29 comments [36 favorites]

John Dowland was a lute player and composer roughly contemporaneous with William Shakespeare. In a recent article Mark Padmore, a frequent performer of Dowland's work, compared Dowland to Morrissey and Bob Dylan. Whether that's accurate or not johndowland.co.uk is a fine website with many recordings available either in mp3 format or as videos. There are essays on the site but it also points towards many other Dowlandian treasures online, including this fine biography and lyrics. Among Dowland's best known works are Flow, My Tears, Stay, Time, Awhile and An Heart Thats Broken and Contrite [mp3 links] but my favorites are In Darknesse Let Mee Dwell and Sorrow Stay [YouTube]
posted by Kattullus at 7:34 PM Jul 8 2009 - 20 comments [33 favorites]

Art house films for £3 a pop. Stream them from here
posted by muggsy1079 at 4:41 AM Jul 8 2009 - 17 comments [32 favorites]

Ten years ago today, Mark Sandman died on stage during a Morphine concert at the Giardini del Principe in Palestrina, Italy. His music and its impact has not always received the type of attention normally given to rock stars tragically struck down in their prime, let alone one this brilliant.
posted by allen.spaulding at 6:35 AM Jul 3 2009 - 51 comments [47 favorites (31 in the last 7 days)]

55 years ago, Brown v. Board of Education was decided, which lead to the controversial court-ordered school integrations in the South. Four years later, the prolific Charles Beaumont wrote his only solo novel, The Intruder, based on a true story but set in a fictitious small southern town of Caxton that is riled up by a mysterious man from out-of-town who wants to halt the school integration. The novel was turned into a movie by the same name in 1962, produced, directed and financed by Roger Corman, starring a charismatic William Shatner as the mysterious intruder, some 4 years before the start of his iconic role in Star Trek. Shot on location, using locals who were not fully aware of the plot of the movie, the whole film was made for $80-$90,000, and was Corman's only film to lose money at the box offices. The production was banned in some Missouri cities because the local people objected to the film's portrayal racism and segregation. The film finally saw a profit after its re-release on DVD in recent years. (Previously discussed as part of this 1970s Shatner post; video links inside)
posted by filthy light thief at 1:27 PM Jul 7 2009 - 26 comments [31 favorites]

The New York Times commissioned Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins to travel around the United States and take photographs of abandoned construction projects left in the wake of the housing and securities market collapse.
posted by acb at 8:14 AM Jul 7 2009 - 227 comments [30 favorites]

The principles of Harmonics were discovered by Pythagoras c.587-c.507 B.C. during travels to Egypt and throughout the ancient world. Hans Kayser made a profound philosophic study of harmonics in the 20th century. Algorithmic composition is the technique of using harmonic algorithms to create music. Drew Lesso has been creating algorithmic music since 1975. Samples like Crystal, Constellations, or Planet Earth demonstrate the math behind the music. Over the years, Lesso has collaborated with many other musicians and poets to create an airy, evolutionary legacy.
posted by netbros at 8:21 AM Jul 5 2009 - 19 comments [29 favorites]

In 1946 legendary surrealist Salvador Dali formed an unlikely friendship with Walt Disney, and they spent some time collaborating on a short film called Destino. Dali and Disney artist John Hench worked on a lot of storyboards, but only 18 seconds of test footage were shot before the project was abandoned.
posted by hippybear at 4:23 PM Jul 6 2009 - 24 comments [28 favorites]

Light-Test: a home for all of our light tests. A website dedicated to pictures of photography assistants at work. Sort of.
posted by ColdChef at 7:13 PM Jul 5 2009 - 23 comments [27 favorites]