Forest fires due to slash and burn farming in Sumatra, Indonesia have led to unprecedented air pollution levels in Singapore and Malaysia. In Singapore particularly, Facebook and Twitter are aflame as well. For a country used to very clean air, the sudden pollution has led to public outcry, with air purifiers and face masks being snatched off the shelves. So far, no stop-work-order has been issued, and there are complaints that the government is not tackling the situation rapidly enough. Indonesia is working to put out the fires and is considering cloud seeding; their response to pressure from Singapore to do more was that Singaporeans should stop behaving like children and not disturb their domestic affairs. While image macros about the 2013 haze continue to fill up Facebook feeds, some people are taking the whole affair in a more irreverent way. [more inside]
posted by destrius at 3:11 AM - 0 comments

“I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatised parents.” The world’s oldest and largest ‘ex-gay’ organisation, Exodus International, is finally shutting down a year after deciding it was wrong. Previously. Previousier.
posted by Mezentian at 2:34 AM - 7 comments

Yahoo, on June 12, announced that it is releasing inactive IDs. Yahoo says they are "committed and confident," while others think it is a "spectacularly bad idea" and a "dirty trick."
posted by TrolleyOffTheTracks at 10:55 PM - 32 comments

Gagged by Big Ag. "Horrific abuse. Rampant contamination. And the crime is…exposing it?"
posted by homunculus at 8:54 PM - 33 comments

Baseball, as called by someone who knows nothing about baseball [more inside]
posted by pompelmo at 8:40 PM - 25 comments

Meet a Giant Rodent Who Hugs Cats [more inside]
posted by not_the_water at 7:52 PM - 29 comments

If New York Were A Blank Slate, How Would You Fill It In? is a piece on Becky Cooper's book Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers both famous and not. Cooper's Map Your Memories tumblr. Found from Brain Pickings, which has much more. [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:16 PM - 4 comments

More or less what it says on the tin - some cute whimsical plate designs of men with beards.
posted by Schadenfreudian at 6:39 PM - 5 comments

Fuck Yeah Coelacanths! "It's a Tumblr about coelacanths. For all your coelacanth needs." [via mefi projects] [more inside]
posted by stet at 6:11 PM - 21 comments

After the demolition accident caused the death of 6 people in Philadelphia in the beginning of this month, it was brought to light that a resident issued a complaint with Licenses and Inspections regarding unsafe working conditions at least two weeks prior to the building collapse. Tragically, the LNI inspector took his own life, feeling responsible for the accident. Now Philadelphia City Council is denying liability for the accident stating it is not responsible for the work of private contractors, despite the flawed LNI inspection of the demolition site as well as the laughable demolition requirements established by the city,
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 5:37 PM - 27 comments

James Gandolfini, best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano on The Sopranos, has died at the age of 51. [more inside]
posted by whyareyouatriangle at 5:02 PM - 182 comments

New software system from MIT could help people improve their conversational and interview skills "[N]ew software developed at MIT can be used to help people practice their interpersonal skills until they feel more comfortable with situations such as a job interview or a first date. The software, called MACH (short for My Automated Conversation coacH), uses a computer-generated onscreen face, along with facial, speech, and behavior analysis and synthesis software, to simulate face-to-face conversations. It then provides users with feedback on their interactions."
posted by bookman117 at 5:00 PM - 24 comments

Country crooner Slim Whitman has passed away at the grand old age of 90. His gentle, relaxed and pristine voice (featuring an effortlessly soaring falsetto and a mighty fine yodel, friends) is the kind that, well, you just don't really hear anymore on the pop music landscape. Let's take a moment to revisit a musical aesthetic that now seems a million miles away... Cattle Call, Rose Marie, North Wind, Blues Stay Away From Me and Indian Love Call. So long and happy trails, Slim.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:56 PM - 35 comments

We Hate Movies is a hilariously nerdy and affectionate podcast about bad movies. Its sister show, Blame It On Outer Space, mocks conspiracy theories and paranormal tall tales.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 4:47 PM - 4 comments

'Lets Grid' is an online programming environment that is designed to get people into programming. I tried to strip away all of the complicated set-up that goes along with real-world programming and just give students the very basics they need to create cool things and share their creations with the world.
posted by Artw at 4:39 PM - 6 comments

Kim Thompson, of Fantagraphic and Comics Journal, dead at 57
posted by klangklangston at 3:48 PM - 31 comments

The fifty best (public domain) classic movies that you can legally watch online for free right now, all neatly collected for y'all by Flavorwire (paginated version).
posted by MartinWisse at 3:13 PM - 25 comments

Dogs groomed to look like cows, giraffes, Queen of Hearts (??), bison, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc. [more inside]
posted by mudpuppie at 2:19 PM - 41 comments

With this new video game coming out, we must finally ask: is this the Citizen Kane of video games? [more inside]
posted by Greg Nog at 1:49 PM - 119 comments

Filip Topol - lead singer of the legendary Czech underground band Psi Vojaci (Dog Soldiers) - is dead (translation) at the age of 48. [more inside]
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy at 12:15 PM - 1 comment

Did you hear the one about the KKK-member in NY who made a death ray? In a weird twist, he targeted Jewish Groups--for sales. "An industrial mechanic with General Electric Co., who is also allegedly a member of the Ku Klux Klan, designed a deadly, mobile radiation device that he tried to sell to Jewish groups and then to a southern branch of the Ku Klux Klan, according to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday in Albany" (found via TPM)
posted by saulgoodman at 11:20 AM - 74 comments

Graham Hastings, Alloysious Massaquoi and Kayus Bankole are a musical trio from Scotland. They first met at a local hip-hop night for under-16 youth in Edinburgh, where the music scene is more focused on indie rock than beats and rapping. They started collaborating a few years ago, and now go by the name Young Fathers. They mix rap, grime, modern R&B, afro-beat, noisy samples and more, though they write music from a pop-perspective, and consider themselves "pop boys." They have two short releases that are something between EPs and albums, plus a handful of singles. Their primary releases, Tape One and Tape Two, have been (re)released on the US label Anticon, and they have a handful of official videos: Deadline, Sister, Rumbling and Romance are the first four tracks from Tape One; I Heard is the first video from Tape Two; The Guide is separate single to stream and/or download, for free on Soundcloud.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:12 AM - 6 comments

The last mystery of the financial crisis. It's long been suspected that ratings agencies like Moody's and Standard & Poor's helped trigger the meltdown. A new trove of embarrassing documents shows how they did it. by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone.
posted by lalochezia at 11:10 AM - 27 comments

Having Daughters Rather Than Sons Makes You More Liberal In remarkable research, the sociologist Rebecca Warner and the economist Ebonya Washington have shown that the gender of a person's children seems to influence the attitudes and actions of the parent.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 11:04 AM - 84 comments

World's Smallest Museum Finds the Wonder in Everyday Objects "Tucked away in a lower Manhattan back alley, the freight-elevator-sized, generically named Museum is one of New York City’s newest curiosities. While it’s only open 16 hours a week, during the day on Saturdays and Sundays, the museum’s contents are viewable 24/7, lit and sealed by glass doors." [more inside]
posted by xingcat at 10:51 AM - 9 comments

The Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB), on behalf of The National Academies, is seeking input papers on human spaceflight until July 9th, 2013. You can also read the current submissions. [more inside]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:15 AM - 3 comments

My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter. Pinterest collection featuring the high style exploits of "Quinoa," an imaginary stylish toddler with her imaginary stylish friends.
posted by sweetkid at 10:05 AM - 83 comments

Digital mapping startup MapBox teams up with social data warehouse Gnip to create some stunning visualizations of every geotagged tweet since September 2011. [more inside]
posted by Nelson at 10:01 AM - 5 comments

Well, all you lazy butt people who couldn't manage 7 minutes, here's hope. Norwegian researchers have discovered an even shorter and effective workout. Straight off the heels of the 7-minute workout (which really was more of a 21 minute workout), the 4-minute program (but designed to be done 4 times, so 16 minutes of HIIT total) is said to contain the minimum amount of exercise required to develop appreciable endurance and health gains.
posted by kinetic at 9:56 AM - 54 comments

On blogginheads.tv Mark talks to Glenn Loury about helping the state of Washington to legalize marijuana. Licensing, costs, restrictions, methods of sale etc. One of the best conversations on the topic I've heard.
posted by xjudson at 9:52 AM - 1 comment

Today saw the release of the first trailer for The LEGO Movie, and there are some interesting things to note about it. [more inside]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 9:34 AM - 70 comments

Andy Warhol bridge to be "yarn bombed" Maybe some of you saw the post about the Rubber Ducky coming to Pittsburgh. Well, apparently, now Pittsburgh is getting one of their bridges covered in yarn. This is so bizarre. I hope it all happens at the same time. Bath time fun for everyone!
posted by kbennett289 at 9:18 AM - 24 comments

Vice's Women in Fiction issue contained “Last Words”, "a fashion spread featuring models reenacting the suicides of female authors who tragically ended their own lives." Jezebel called it "almost breathtakingly tasteless" and republished the photographs here after Vice removed them from their website. [more inside]
posted by andoatnp at 8:45 AM - 118 comments

Margaret Doughty is a 65 year old UK citizen, and founder of Literacy Powerline, recently applied for US citizenship after living in the United States for more than 30 years. When she noted in her application that she has a moral objection to taking up arms for her new country, the USCIS asked for a letter on official church stationery. But Ms. Doughty is an atheist. [more inside]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:23 AM - 155 comments

The A.M.A. has officially recognized obesity as a disease. [more inside]
posted by astapasta24 at 7:00 AM - 187 comments

John McAfee on How to Uninstall McAfee Antivirus (Light NSFW: Profanity)
posted by lemuring at 6:31 AM - 60 comments

Western Sahara: Why Africa’s last colony can’t break free
posted by infini at 5:16 AM - 18 comments

"I started the World SF Blog in February of 2009 – a century in Internet time! – partly as an excuse to promote my then-forthcoming anthology of international speculative fiction, The Apex Book of World SF – but mostly out of what can only be described as an ideological drive, a desire to highlight and promote voices seldom heard in genre fiction... The change I have seen in the four years of the blog is heartening. In a way, I have decided to stop now because the blog has fulfilled everything I ever wanted it to, and so much more." - Lavie Tidhar. The World SF Blog leaves behind 61 short stories and a serialized novella by authors from 33 countries, plus exclusive interviews, articles, guest posts and round tables (on WP.com where it's likely to stay up for a while)
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:52 AM - 5 comments

"You know you've made it when your shoppers start composing ballads about you." [more inside]
posted by knile at 4:23 AM - 43 comments

"One Town at a Time", by Pokey LaFarge [SLVIMEO] [more inside]
posted by Doleful Creature at 12:48 AM - 4 comments

NGUYỄN Hùng Cường creates some truly amazing works of origami. [more inside]
posted by Athanassiel at 11:03 PM - 14 comments

The Time I Went Roller-Skating With Prince, as told by Questlove "I got a text from Prince’s assistant." And so the story begins, in an excerpt from "Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove" by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Ben Greenman. What's not to love?
posted by raysmj at 9:27 PM - 28 comments

Inseminoid Academic criticism of Inseminoid has concentrated on the film's treatment of the female sex and female sexualities in the context of corruption by an alien source. In addition to its depiction of the abject Sandy, who is rendered a distorted Other in the aftermath of her unnatural impregnation, the film has been seen to incorporate a clash between the patriarchal and the maternal towards its climax, as the would-be-mother eliminates her former friends one by one. [more inside]
posted by KokuRyu at 9:02 PM - 18 comments

Journalist Michael Hastings has died in a car accident at the age of 33. Hastings' best known piece, a profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal (previously), was instrumental in McChrystal being dismissed as commander of US forces in Afghanistan. A tribute to Hastings from Rolling Stone, and a collection of remembrances from his colleagues at Buzzfeed.
posted by Cash4Lead at 9:00 PM - 99 comments

Amaranth Borsuk, Jesper Juul, and Nick Montfort present The Deletionist, a bookmarklet for automatically producing an erasure poem from any Web page
posted by juv3nal at 8:58 PM - 5 comments

Ford has replaced its human test drivers with robots.
posted by storybored at 8:51 PM - 14 comments

Mapping The Newest Old Map Of The World: A full-sized, 3D plaster relief facsimile of the Hereford Mappa Mundi, the largest surviving medieval map of the world (Previously).
posted by homunculus at 8:41 PM - 6 comments

Old school Hip Hop photographer, Joe Conzo, captured the emerging art and culture of Hip Hop in the South Bronx during the late 70's and early 80's. Conzo's photo archive has made its home at the Cornell Hip Hop Collection, whose mission is "to collect and make accessible the historical artifacts of Hip Hop culture and to ensure their preservation for future generations." Now Scream! is the Collection's first comprehensive exhibition. It runs from April 4, 2013 to February 4, 2014. Conzo's work is part of the exhibition as well. [more inside]
posted by TrolleyOffTheTracks at 8:19 PM - 6 comments

Russell Brand ends up surrounded by idiots on Morning Joe. Destroys them and they hardly know it. Pictures at 11.
posted by anothermug at 8:15 PM - 129 comments

Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe: understand the rules then play it online. [more inside]
posted by Foci for Analysis at 8:01 PM - 15 comments