"Bicycle helmets do an outstanding job of keeping our skulls intact in a major crash. But they do almost nothing to prevent concussions and other significant brain injuries—and the very government agency created to protect us is part of the problem. The time has come to demand something safer."
posted by killdevil at 1:17 PM - 42 comments

The Art of the Trailer [more inside]
posted by brundlefly at 12:10 PM - 38 comments

An Oral History of the Birth and Death of BattleBots
posted by Copronymus at 12:09 PM - 17 comments

Last Action Hero was released twenty years ago today. Directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard -- previously), written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3 -- previously), and starring The Terminator Himself (um, previously), the movie was a send-up of action movie tropes and conceits. [more inside]
posted by gauche at 9:53 AM - 99 comments

More nightmarishly dystopian horror comedy with Dr. Good
posted by Cookiebastard at 9:23 AM - 21 comments

The Periodic Table of Muppets
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:59 AM - 30 comments

Inappropriate Time For Ham
3 Cheers for Steak!
A Steep Price For Pie

Three tasteless comics by Andrew Hussie about various kinds of comestibles. Also: Humanimals [possibly NSFL]
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:28 AM - 13 comments

The amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the air jumped dramatically in 2012, making it very unlikely that global warming can be limited to another 2 degrees as many global leaders have hoped. [more inside]
posted by j03 at 8:23 AM - 67 comments

Four Mile Run is an urban stream that runs through the middle of Arlington County Virginia, inside the Washington Capital Beltway. It is nine miles long, having been accidentally renamed by a typo from its original designation as "Flour Mill Run" [more inside]
posted by humanfont at 7:57 AM - 26 comments

You and Your Fucking Coffee is a web series about a man who politely asks for coffee, and in doing so, ends up destroying the lives of those around him. From Henry Phillips, host of Henry's Kitchen (previously)
posted by rebent at 7:54 AM - 21 comments

Swiss Researchers develop a robot that runs like a cat.
posted by The Whelk at 7:20 AM - 41 comments

In a 5-4 ruling on Salinas vs. Texas, the SCOTUS ruled that silence can be used in court. (PDF) Without being placed in custody or receiving Miranda warnings, Genovevo Salinas voluntarily answered some of a police officer’s questions about a murder, but fell silent when asked whether ballistics testing would match his shotgun to shell casings found at the scene of the crime. During his trial in Texas state court, and over his objection, the prosecution used his failure to answer the question as evidence of guilt. He was convicted, and both the State Court of Appeals andCourt of Criminal Appeals affirmed, rejecting his claim that the prosecution’s use of his silence in its case in chief violated the Fifth Amendment. Analysis on SCOTUSblog
posted by dukes909 at 6:49 AM - 122 comments

Because New Leaf’s tanning doesn’t seem to happen in real time, and because it seems to take days instead of hours now, trying to get a particular mid-level skin tone is more precarious than maintaining a pale complexion. Not only is the outcome hard to predict, but someone who wants the default skin to stay only has to bring a parasol around with them in the summer sun. They literally have access to tools and methods I don’t. It is very hard not to just write “DO YOU GET IT?” over and over again. I don’t have a tanning booth, or tanning lotion. I certainly don’t have a way to lock in my current tan level.

The other implication is that it might be the case that tanning is a disincentive to overplaying. I hadn’t realized it until my friend with the cobblestone roads pointed it out. Let’s say, hypothetically, that you’ve kept your game running for five straight hours for some odd reason. You might notice that your town’s other villagers will greet you with an admonishment. You look tired they say, you should take a rest. You should stop playing. There is a strange, formal parallel between this directive and tanning. Both come only after hours of uninterrupted play. The same activity results in both outcomes. Coupled with the fact that players are outfitted with ways to prevent, but not cause tanning, it’s hard not to draw some connections.

My argument isn’t that Nintendo has gone out of its way to be racist, it’s that the question of race seems to have never been brought up to begin with, and that has its own problems.

Me, On The Screen: Race in Animal Crossing: New Leaf
posted by timshel at 5:52 AM - 41 comments

"I’m not saying the Left embraces or even excuses away these clerics, but this strange reticence across the Left not only allows them to fester, but has other consequences."
posted by marienbad at 5:22 AM - 30 comments

The US government has finally released the names of 46 men being held in Guantánamo under the classification of "indefinite detainees" – terror suspects deemed too dangerous to release or move yet impossible to try in a civilian or even military court for reasons of inadequate or tainted evidence.
For more than three months, the US military has faced off with defiant prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, strapping down as many as 44 each day to feed them a liquid nutrient mix through a nasal tube. The prison camp has now been labelled a 'a medical ethics free zone' by Senior Professors at Boston University.
The hunger strikers are now reportedly being fed Reglan a medicine that increases the movements or contractions of the stomach and intestines with worrying side effects. See Huff Post Live video.
See previous ''Gitmo is killing me''.
posted by adamvasco at 1:48 AM - 146 comments

Lately, I've had some doubts about the level of discourse here on Metafilter. To remedy the situation, here is that great American essayist and thinker, Mr. Edgar Allan Poe, on diddling. [more inside]
posted by Nomyte at 12:16 AM - 27 comments

"Great war novels inevitably follow great wars, and in literary circles following World War II, everyone was wondering what would be the successors to A Farewell to Arms and All Quiet on the Western Front — and who would write them. But when John Horne Burns, age 29, in his small dormitory suite at the Loomis School in Windsor, Conn., on the night of April 23, 1946 (Shakespeare’s birthday, at that), finished The Gallery — 'I fell across my Underwood and wept my heart out,' he later recalled — he was convinced he had done just that, and more. ‘The Gallery, I fear, is one of the masterpieces of the 20th century,' he wrote a friend." (SLNYT) (via) [more inside]
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 7:32 PM - 46 comments

Amazingly detailed replica of the Friends Apartment made of paper. By artist Bruna Salvador Conforto. She also did a replica of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore's house in Stars Hollow. Made of paper.
posted by sweetkid at 7:09 PM - 33 comments

"Bored of being in a dark room, she flips on the light, opens the door and bails. This particular episode takes place at 1am. This is why we keep doors locked with her around. We don't need her harassing the neighbors..." Julius Escaping.
posted by codacorolla at 6:48 PM - 104 comments

Second Avenue Subway: New York's Excavation Project Looks Like A Moonscape (slide show)
posted by slogger at 6:43 PM - 41 comments

Some Notes on Attunement: A voyage around Joni Mitchell (or pdf). Author Zadie Smith discovers Joni Mitchell.
posted by TrolleyOffTheTracks at 6:11 PM - 50 comments

Cooking For Freedom

A few days before I met Ahmed Jama in Mogadishu, three Islamist gunmen from Al Shabaab — al-Qa’eda’s Somali branch — burst into his new restaurant wearing suicide bomb jackets. They sprayed the place with bullets and then detonated themselves.

NPR: At His Own Risk, Somali Chef Creates Gourmet Haven In War-Weary Mogadishu [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 6:05 PM - 10 comments

Dave Lamb and MorganEve Swain are Brown Bird, a band from Rhode Island with a dark, rootsy, foot-stomping sound. Although Brown Bird has been around since 2003, they have enjoyed a recent increase of popularity, culminating in the April 2013 release of a new album, Fits of Reason, and a national tour to promote it. Just weeks into the tour, though, Lamb was diagnosed with leukemia, and the tour (and the band) were put on hiatus while Lamb undergoes chemotherapy. [more inside]
posted by quiet coyote at 5:56 PM - 6 comments

Babies Laughing About Rubber Bands SLYT
posted by Ipsifendus at 5:53 PM - 24 comments

Mechs done in the style of Richard Scarry by comics artist Evan Palmer.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:42 PM - 11 comments

The most well known of New Zealand's World War II home-built tanks was the Bob Semple tank, designed by New Zealand Minister of Works Bob Semple. There was only one made, but it served its purpose of "showing the people that something was being done to meet the enemy. It rumbled around, took part in parades, and inspired confidence." One problem: the tank, built on a Caterpiller tractor and armored with corrugated steel, would momentarily pause while changing gears, unless it was already headed down hill. During parades and public shows, its driver was instructed to change gear as little as possible, to prevent people from thinking their tank was stalling. The other New Zealand-built tank was the Schofield tank, built on the chassis of a Chevrolet heavy-duty truck, with the ability to drive quickly on wheels, then operate on treads, the transition only taking 7 to 10 minutes. Two prototypes were made, but neither the Bob Semple nor the Schofield tank were mass produced, as New Zealand started receiving tanks from abroad by 1943.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:27 PM - 17 comments

The Secret History of Privacy. "Something creepy happened when mystery became secular, secrecy became a technology, and privacy became a right..." [Via]
posted by homunculus at 5:15 PM - 23 comments

Dead men tell some tales - a visit to the Hellfire Caves, home of one of the most infamous Hellfire Clubs.
posted by Artw at 4:38 PM - 8 comments

In this video, Cheryl Misak delivers a lecture mostly having to do with the relationship between the accounts of truth given by C.S. Peirce and F.P. Ramsey. [more inside]
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 3:56 PM - 7 comments

...no background checks needed. Coming to (or already in) an airport near you: Holograms serve as "virtual assistants" giving instructions in multiple languages. via
posted by agatha_magatha at 3:45 PM - 31 comments

"Every week, Richard Cobbett rolls the dice to bring you an obscure slice of gaming history, from lost gems to weapons grade atrocities." -- PC Gamer's Crap Shoot looks at (semi-)obscure pc games, featuring big budget failures, extinct for a reason subgenres and godawful erotic games (movies) but also lost classics and beloved eighties masterpieces.
posted by MartinWisse at 2:32 PM - 32 comments

In commemoration of the 19th edition of its Colors series, Field Notes brand notebooks offers this video of the Night Sky. [more inside]
posted by Apropos of Something at 1:05 PM - 32 comments

The Restart Project encourages community engagement in repairing broken electronic equipment. This one year old charity enables "restart parties" which bring together consumers with broken electronic equipment and volunteer repairers, in an attempt to address our modern culture of "passive, flabby consumers of technology". When recycling is the second best option.
posted by walrus at 12:59 PM - 22 comments

To kick off each week the staff of NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" posts Sandwich Mondays on The Salt blog, to look at some of the more... unusual sandwich offerings from America's commercial kitchens. This week, they recreate Wendy's nine patty T-Rex burger, which recently went extinct.
posted by zarq at 12:54 PM - 59 comments

There is a joke here somewhere about Bears, Rights, Arms, the Right to Bear Arms, Bears Arms and holy crap camera work. SLYT Cats and dogs are cute, but how about a black bear? Cute bear climbs tree to see what the heck the hunter is doing on the blind in the tree. [more inside]
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:38 PM - 69 comments

Picture this. You're one of the 3 million-ish users of Duolingo, doing online Italian lessons so you can talk to your Italian boyfriend in his own language. Halfway through one of your daily lessons, you're given the sentence "Lui ti ama" to translate. "He loves you" -- cute coincidence. But then it starts getting stranger.
posted by pont at 12:11 PM - 52 comments

The Council of the European Union recently released a proposal to amend the General Data Protection Regulation. Scaling back from becoming the most strict privacy regulation in the world, the amendment greatly favors corporate interests while reducing the rights of data subjects. [more inside]
posted by ChipT at 11:25 AM - 8 comments

India to send world's last telegram [more inside]
posted by not_the_water at 10:43 AM - 66 comments

What Daleks, xenomorphs and slasher movies tell us about palaeoart. [more inside]
posted by brundlefly at 10:19 AM - 9 comments

Feathers, photographed and scanned. [via mefi projects] [more inside]
posted by aniola at 10:02 AM - 15 comments

When it comes to unappealing couples that have been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, Arch Hall Jr. and Marilyn Manning are near the top of the heap. Their appearance in Eegah provided rich fodder for Joel and the bots. And yet, only one year after the release of Eegah, Hall and Manning would find themselves together again in radically different roles. [more inside]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:57 AM - 15 comments

Disclaimer (Autoplay MP3): "Very Bad Wizards is a podcast with a philosopher, my dad, and a psychologist, Dave Pizarro, having an informal discussion about issues in science and ethics. Please note that the discussion contains bad words that I'm not allowed to say, and knowing my dad, some very inappropriate jokes." Favorite themes include responsibility and revenge, agency and utilitarianism, dishonesty and character, empathy and offensiveness. [more inside]
posted by anotherpanacea at 8:51 AM - 3 comments

The lasting effects of the Vietnam draft lottery. Men who were more likely to be drafted in the Vietnam war were more antiwar, more liberal, and more Democratic than those who were protected from the draft. Moreover, these attitudes persist into adulthood. [more inside]
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 8:50 AM - 116 comments

Foster was a longtime model-airplane enthusiast, and one day he realized that his hobby could make for a new kind of weapon. His idea: take an unmanned, remote-controlled airplane, strap a camera to its belly, and fly it over enemy targets to snap pictures or shoot film; if possible, load it with a bomb and destroy the targets, too.

An accessible but detailed overview of the history and current implementations of military drones. [more inside]
posted by latkes at 7:13 AM - 42 comments

Character designer veteran Phil Postma has a blog, Minion Factory, where he often likes to explore the possibilities of Pixar-like reinterpretations of such things as Superman, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Pulp Serials (and much, much more).
posted by Atreides at 7:12 AM - 28 comments

The whimsical and awe-inspiring light art of Darren Pearson. Just how does he capture those skeletons on camera? Previously.
posted by Mooseli at 7:06 AM - 6 comments

Perhaps slightly obscurred by its charmingly primitive web design, my new favorite website is a fantastic reference resource for delving into American speeches that have changed history as well as discovering new amazing ones. [more inside]
posted by Blasdelb at 6:32 AM - 5 comments

The Troy McClure Credits Supercut (SLYTPHT*)
*Single Link You Tube Phil Hartman Tribute [more inside]
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:47 AM - 44 comments

In the mid-1920s, Claude Friese-Greene filmed The Open Road, a record of his journey through Britain, using the 'Biocolour' technique first developed by his father William. Eighty years later, the BFI produced a digital version of the preserved and restored film. We've seen London in 1926 previously on MeFi, but there's plenty more of The Open Road to see, including weavers in Kilbarchan (1:16), farmers harvesting with oxen in Cirencester (0:52), Glamorgan coal-miners (0:46), and more. [more inside]
posted by Catseye at 2:46 AM - 7 comments

Minneapolis foursome City of Sound make music that's part Mars Volta, part Death From Above 1979, and all experimental madness, listing influences like Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles. Both their albums, L'Implosion and Creatures, can be heard in full on their Bandcamp page.
posted by cthuljew at 12:32 AM - 6 comments