A Poem by Stephen King The poem is stored by Playboy.com so NSFW. Also, body horror and vernacular involved.
posted by Sparx at 3:16 AM - 16 comments

Animated Stereoviews of Meiji Japan [more inside]
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 6:40 PM - 27 comments

TSA is cracking down on snow globes. Although now a terrorist threat, traditionally snow globes have stood for Elvis, Jesus, and the American flag.
posted by twoleftfeet at 6:16 PM - 86 comments

David Guttenfelder is the chief Asia photographer for The Associated Press. Recently, he has been focusing his lens in Afghanistan. Photographer Collection: David Guttenfelder in Afghanistan and On Assignment: Afghanistan.
posted by netbros at 4:44 PM - 8 comments

Was the housing bubble caused by very low long-term fixed-rate mortgages? Or was is due to a national, get-rich-quick obsession? Or Did Christianity Cause the Crash? [more inside]
posted by jaimev at 4:16 PM - 69 comments

"The EyeWriter project is an ongoing collaborative research effort to empower people, who are suffering from ALS, with creative technologies." [more inside]
posted by brundlefly at 2:32 PM - 5 comments

Andrew Zuckerman's Bird Book
posted by ooga_booga at 2:27 PM - 22 comments

Hiroshi Watanabe -- Love Point::Suo Sarumawashi::Ideology in Paradise::"I see angels every day"::Kabuki Players::Japanese Studies::Northern Places::Species Among Us
posted by vronsky at 2:01 PM - 6 comments

Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden (SLYT). MetaFilter is no stranger to the late Dock Ellis and the legendary no-hitter he pitched under the influence of everyone's favorite indole phantasticant (previously: 2001, 2005, 2008), but this animation takes the story to a new level.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 1:50 PM - 47 comments

NASA scientists claim to have found significant amounts of water, after successfully bombing the moon last month. This may have implications on possible Terraforming efforts as well as NASA's goal to understand the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the Universe. What might it look like?
posted by localhuman at 1:27 PM - 72 comments

Wikipedia is being sued for publishing the names of two convicted killers. Wolfgang Werlé and Manfred Lauber killed well-known German actor Walter Sedlmayr in 1990. They were convicted of the crime in 1993 and sentenced to prison, and recently released. Under German law, publishing the name of a criminal after he has served his sentence is considered an undue infringement of privacy, and is illegal. Accordingly, the German Wiki removed the names of the killers off the page discussing the murder --- but the English language version of wiki, based in the US and operating under the First Ammendment, has not. Now the killers' lawyer has sued the Wikimedia foundation to get them to remove the names. [more inside]
posted by Diablevert at 12:30 PM - 132 comments

Don't! Mess! With! A! Snap! Diva! A clip from the 1989 documentary Tongues Untied which is about black gay identity. (via)
posted by The Devil Tesla at 12:23 PM - 14 comments

Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home Tribe of Heart's first film, "The Witness", was an eye opening look at how one man's whole life was changed by an encounter with a kitten. Their new film, "Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home", tells the story of a group of farmers coming to grips with the realization that they can't continue to make a living from the suffering of animals.
posted by DaddyNewt at 12:04 PM - 7 comments

Ninja Cat: The Reveal (previously)
posted by flatluigi at 11:36 AM - 24 comments

A collection of links to recipes from Thomas Keller's latest cookbook Ad Hoc at Home, including crispy braised chicken thighs with lemon and fennel, blowtorch prime rib, leek bread pudding, brownies, and the famous buttermilk fried chicken.
posted by AceRock at 11:33 AM - 13 comments

Thousands of people who play setar in Iran are against me,” he said. “They say why add two more strings to the instrument? But I don’t get upset with them.

Hafez Nazeri, son of renown Persian singer Shahram Nazeri, is an Iranian setar player and composer. Tomorrow night, he will be the first Iranian composer to headline a concert at Carnegie Hall. The concert will feature a new instrument invented by Nazeri: the Hafez. [more inside]
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:21 AM - 5 comments

Guantanamo Bay detainee Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, along with four others, now faces trial in federal court in New York. The United States is seeking he death penalty. "This is definitely a seismic shift in how we're approaching the war on al-Qaida," said Glenn Sulmasy, a law professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Mohammed was water boarded over 180 times: it is unclear if his confession will be admissible.
posted by bearwife at 10:53 AM - 88 comments

Five years ago today Russell, also known as The Ol' Dirty Bastard, passed away in a recording studio in New York City while finishing what was to be his final album. [prev] He is remembered by those close to him. [more inside]
posted by paisley henosis at 10:40 AM - 42 comments

How to use an Apostrophe
posted by blue_beetle at 10:29 AM - 109 comments

Looking to found your own Independent Republic of Metastan? Land is hard to come by, and barring sudden volcanic activity, they're not making any more of it. The Law of the Sea (1982) says that the ocean can't be claimed, and Outer Space Treaty of 1967 puts the moon off-limits. But your fledgling nation still has a couple of choices of unclaimed land parcels: Bir Tawil between Egypt and Sudan, and Marie Byrd Land (lower left) in Antarctica. [more inside]
posted by echo target at 9:45 AM - 13 comments

Fans of Dr. Horrible take note: there is a prequel. And it's fan-made. And it's good. Really really good. YouTube (ten segments) and higher-quality Vimeo available for your viewing pleasure.
posted by hippybear at 9:16 AM - 18 comments

7 scripts you gotta read [more inside]
posted by philip-random at 8:50 AM - 58 comments

If you're like me, you're in the market to buy yourself an island-sized boat, but you're not satisfied with the world's current inventory of formulaic, fuel-guzzling, cruise-ship-like mega-yachts. You might want to consider picking up a WHY 58x38, which offers 36,000 square feet of living space, a 120-foot "beach," three decks, and an 80-foot interior pool, topped by a vast solar panel array. It won't break your budget -- at a mere $151 million, it doesn't even crack the top four most expensive yachts in the world! [more inside]
posted by brain_drain at 8:44 AM - 64 comments

Using photosynthesis to power hydrogen production
Researchers have found that if they insert platinum nanoclusters into the photosynthetic machinery of bacteria, one acre could produce an amount of hydrogen equivalent to 79 gallons of gas per day. [more inside]
posted by kliuless at 8:42 AM - 29 comments

Jerry Fielding (1922-1980) was one of cinema's most distinctive voices in the 1960s and especially '70s, the perfect musical complement to the films of Sam Peckinpah*, Michael Winner, Clint Eastwood and others. His scores are marked by modernism and intricate orchestrations but also a poetic beauty and intensity—an appropriate accompaniment to the decade's strange and often sad (but never sentimental) criminals and antiheroes, be they in westerns (The Wild Bunch) or crime films. He was, however, capable of numerous styles (he was a former Vegas bandleader), and wrote a great number of scores (from sticoms to dramas to sci-fi) for television. - Film Score Monthly [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese at 8:29 AM - 2 comments

Clicker is a site that collects all available streaming videos, movies and television shows and gathers them all up in one nice neat little bundle for your searching and viewing pleasure. [more inside]
posted by willmize at 6:07 AM - 8 comments

The Carillon is the most massive musical instrument in the world. Carillonneurs bang out heavy metal with their fists loosely clenched. It will leave your ears ringing. (Yes, it's bells. Big bells.)
posted by not_on_display at 5:37 AM - 43 comments

Do you know how many time zones there are in the Soviet Union? Eleven. That's Ridiculous. It's not even funny.
posted by jscott at 2:36 AM - 58 comments

After the 2005 Kelo (previously) decision, granting the city of New London, CT the right to seize dozens of homes to make way for a luxury development including a hotel, stores, and condominiums next to a Pfizer research facility. The Kelo House itself was spared - moved to another part of town. The rest were demolished. The planned development? It never happened. All that's left are empty fields. Oh, and the research facility? Pfizer just announced they'll be closing it
posted by delmoi at 1:51 AM - 62 comments

Mike Stilkey paints on books.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 10:33 PM - 10 comments

By order of the Principal, all students are forbidden to say the word "meep". That is all.
posted by scalefree at 7:05 PM - 199 comments

"Liberal Hawk" Peter Galbraith played a major role in justifying the American invasion of Iraq. Later he helped write the new Iraqi constitution. Turns out he failed to disclose the hundreds of millions he stands to make on Kurdish oil fields, in part because of his engineering of the same constitution to put him in a favorable business position. Another blogger remembers the good ol' days of 2003 when the media and politicians were shocked --shocked! -- that anyone would dare suggest that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was "all about oil."
posted by bardic at 6:02 PM - 65 comments

North Dakota might be the butt of many jokes. It also might have the solution to many of the financial and banking problems facing our largest states. The Bank of North Dakota is the only state owned and operated bank in the USA. Some see it as a model for the future of banking.
posted by Xurando at 5:38 PM - 29 comments

Is Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao the GOP future? That's what Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) thought - a year ago. Since then, Cao has jolted Washington, and the question arises: was Boehner right about Cao being the future of the GOP, or will the purifiers prevail. [more inside]
posted by VikingSword at 5:28 PM - 63 comments

Do you want a definitive guide to washing your cast iron pan? Or you're curious about your vintage pans, maybe? Maybe your well-meaning partner left your beloved pan soaking in the sink, and you need to get rid of the rust, stat. Or maybe it's a LOT of rust, and you're looking to build an at-home electrolysis tank (warning: top-of-page Borat swimsuit shot). For all your questions on the loves and lives of the fabled cast iron pan, Black Iron Dude has the answer. [more inside]
posted by peachfuzz at 4:04 PM - 87 comments

Ten years ago today the government reversed one of the key elements of the Depression-era banking laws, knocking down the firewall between commercial banks, which take deposits and make loans, and investment banks, which underwrite securities. The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 was seen at the time as a way to help American banks grow larger and better compete on the world stage. [more inside]
posted by HP LaserJet P10006 at 3:30 PM - 22 comments

National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen (previously) relates the harrowing tale of a sweet, insistent, and ferocious lunchmate (note - clip begins with a dramatic drumbeat, mind your speakers) [more inside]
posted by Hypnotic Chick at 1:39 PM - 36 comments

Bisphenol A causes impotence and phthalates cause boys to act like girls.
posted by Glibpaxman at 1:23 PM - 127 comments

Projecting images onto buildings is nothing new. Even projecting buildings themselves has been theorized. But Dutch firm NuFormer has created a new means for projecting custom-made images onto buildings. The results are amazing.
posted by jefficator at 1:02 PM - 34 comments

Tutting is the name given to a contemporary abstract interpretive dance style that exploits the body's ability to create geometric positions and movements, predominantly with the use of right angles. Finger tutting narrows the dance to just the hands. See: Monsieur Clay-Doh | JBeast | Moon vs. Pacman | Bugs Bunny 1947 and Learn: WonderHowTo | thaSMIZofESV | TheFreekachu [some nsfw]. Kids these days.
posted by netbros at 12:02 PM - 36 comments

Demand Media (not to be confused with Media-On-Demand) is a success story in the "on-line content" business creating 4000 text or video pieces a day with an assembly-line formula that includes an automated editorial algorithm and an army of lowly-paid freelancers (but, hey, they're starting to offer health benefits!). Their own sites include the mind-numbingly practical eHow (and eHowUK for the non-US-centric), the .com affiliate of Lance Armstrong's Livestrong and the infamous (at MeFi) Cracked.com (link goes to parody of parody). They're syndicating content through their own domain registrar eNom (better than 'parked pages', right?), and one other thing: Demand is the #1 content provider to YouTube (and YouTube is their #1 revenue provider). All this from a CEO/mastermind best known as 'the guy who sold MySpace to NewsCorp'.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:26 AM - 76 comments

A few years ago, Gruff Rhys, lead singer of fabulous Welsh pop oddballs Super Furry Animals (Cymraeg/English) set out to make a film about the search for his uncle, a 1970s Argentinian pop star called René Griffiths. The result is Separado!: part travelogue, part music film, and part history of how a small band of idealists set out to establish a Welsh colony in the Argentinian part of Patagonia. [more inside]
posted by Len at 11:08 AM - 14 comments

Last year, Spotify made news as a revelation in music availability, by providing ad-supported free access or paid subscriptions to more than 6 million streaming songs. This year, Sweden is the home to another streaming media landmark, with Voddler. Currently limited to Sweden but with goals of reaching the world, the streaming video-on-demand provider was well-received, but initial movie selection did not impress all. That should change, as Voddler recently expanded the potential list of movies when they signed The Walt Disney Company Ltd and Paramount Pictures, netting access to the Disney assets and the Paramount library. A deal with Sony may be forthcoming. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:34 AM - 22 comments

Star Trek Tricorders are becoming reality. Not a doctor? Not a problem. There's an iPhone app that detects killer gasses in the air. There's one for Android phones that detects magnetic and gravitational fields and displays solar activity. This device doesn't do anything particularly useful other than play music, but it looks damned cool. Another iPhone app that's just for fun, presented by the geekiest guy ever.
posted by desjardins at 10:33 AM - 35 comments

The Mandelbulb "The original Mandelbrot is an amazing object that has captured the public's imagination for 30 years. It's found by following a relatively simple math formula. But in the end, it's still only 2D and flat - there's no depth, shadows, perspective, or light sourcing. What we have featured in this article is a potential 3D version of the same fractal."
posted by dhruva at 10:06 AM - 113 comments

Tom Sanford, a NY based artist, has created paintings depicting pop-culture icons before, but none have created a "regular trickle of hate mail/criticism" like this one. [more inside]
posted by dubold at 8:45 AM - 67 comments

Ambiguous movie endings resolved. Some jokesters have put together imagined endings to some ambiguous film (and TV) endings. Much funnier and better executed than I expected.
posted by meadowlark lime at 8:43 AM - 51 comments

Forgotten Objects. Found objects from an imagined past. [Via]
posted by homunculus at 8:31 AM - 7 comments

Birds are a liquid. One video. One minute. 300,000 starlings. (via)
posted by maudlin at 8:25 AM - 51 comments

Fumiko's Confession - a short film animated completely by one person. (via)
posted by flatluigi at 8:18 AM - 23 comments