2632 MetaFilter comments by dash_slot- (displaying 1 through 50)

RIP John Noakes, British children's television presenter - mainly on the long-running BBC show Blue Peter with his dog Shep - back in the days when health and safety concerns were a little more lax. He was also famous for being upstaged by a baby elephant.
comment posted at 5:35 AM on May-29-17

Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, was a dangerous place to be in the late 1970s. With bombs, shootings, British Army Patrols, riots on the streets, and The Ramones and New York Dolls on the turntable, the most punk thing 5 Catholic lads could do was to sing upbeat songs about adolescent lust, girls, getting nowhere with said girls, and the general struggles of being young. In the bleeding heart of The Troubles, The Undertones escaped by dreaming of a life more ordinary.
comment posted at 7:05 PM on Jun-11-14

Ry Cooder and Corridos Famosos: Live "From this rich catalog, Cooder cherry-picked only a dozen songs to include on Live but they’re fairly representative of his eclectic oeuvre. His picks also feature plenty of his guitar playing, which will please fans who felt (as I sometimes did) that his recent albums were a bit stingy with his greatest asset. " "The shows also were a family affair. The Corridos Famosos include Ry’s son Joachim on drums, Joachim’s wife Juliet Commagere on vocals, and her brother Robert Francis on bass, as well as an old friend and collaborator, Flaco Jimenez, the Tejano accordionist who was at Cooder’s side when he played this venue 34 years earlier. Terry Evans, another veteran of the 1977 shows, handles backup vocals, along with Arnold McCuller, filling in for Cooder’s other longtime singing partner Bobby King." Don't miss the clip at the end of the review.
comment posted at 6:24 PM on Nov-19-13

Last week, Kanye West sat down with BBC Radio's Zane Lowe for an hour-long interview, which Jimmy Kimmel promptly spoofed. Kanye has responded angrily via Twitter, writing "JIMMY KIMMEL IS OUT OF LINE TO TRY AND SPOOF IN ANY WAY THE FIRST PIECE OF HONEST MEDIA IN YEARS", among other things. Kimmel responds on his show. More on Kanye, previously.
comment posted at 4:58 PM on Sep-28-13

SNL 1977 - Lorne Michaels "raised his middle finger at [Elvis] Costello and kept it up until the unapproved song was over."
From wikipedia: Costello wanted to play "Radio Radio" on SNL. Columbia Records, however, was interested in having an already-established song performed on SNL, to increase interest in the band before the American release of My Aim Is True and This Year's Model. In the event, Costello began the SNL performance by playing "Less than Zero." However, after a few bars, he turned to the Attractions, waving his hand and yelling "Stop! Stop!," then said to the audience, "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there's no reason to do this song here," possibly referring to the fact "Less than Zero" was written as a reply to British fascist politician Oswald Mosley. However, SNL music director Howard Shore attributes the move to Costello's bucking pressure by his music company to play "Less than Zero" on the show.[1] He then led the band in a performance of "Radio Radio." Obligatory Weird Al cover. ViaBoingBoing
comment posted at 6:42 AM on Sep-28-13
comment posted at 6:43 AM on Sep-28-13

A classic spontaneous Monty Python tribute to 'King Arthur' Yes, I'm sure this video has never, ever been seen before at MetaFilter. The way it is handled is remarkable, with Cleese calmly discussing how comedy works, and then... Klein's reaction to the chaos near the end is hilarious.
comment posted at 4:12 PM on Apr-28-13

Of all the things to livetweet, a trip to the hospital with a dildo stuck in your rear would have to be the pinnacle of TMI. "What did you do last night" "I shoved a dildo up my ass and needed the hospital to extract it" "oh man me too"
comment posted at 5:50 PM on Mar-11-13



The Rev John Graham (better known as Araucaria) is the most loved, feared and respected of British crossword compilers. Aged 91, and still at the top of his game, his achievements include the 26-letter anagram that some fans have described as 'the best crossword clue ever'. So it was only natural that he should use a set of cryptic clues in one of his own puzzles to break the news that he is dying of cancer.
comment posted at 5:32 AM on Jan-12-13
comment posted at 5:33 AM on Jan-12-13

The US does not have a spending problem, we have a distribution problem "Forty years from now, America will be twice as rich on average as we are today. But most of that wealth will go to the very richest households. We only have a budget crisis if they refuse to pay higher taxes... So the real point isn't that we can't afford Social Security and Medicare. It's that some people don't want to pay the higher taxes necessary to maintain Social Security and Medicare. This is a question of distribution, pure and simple."
comment posted at 2:30 PM on Nov-20-12


British computer hacker Gary McKinnon will not be extradited to the US, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced. [bbc]. She stated that "a decision to extradite would be incompatible with Mr McKinnon's human rights." on grounds of his mental illness(es) and propensity for suicidal thoughts. On a broader level she has also indicated that a forum bar will be available in future extraditions to the USA, meaning a court will be able to consider whether it would be more appropriate for a trial to be held in the UK.
comment posted at 4:01 PM on Oct-16-12
comment posted at 4:09 PM on Oct-16-12

Virus (復活の日 Fukkatsu no hi, literally "Day of Resurrection") is a 1980 Japanese post-apocalyptic film about the release and spread of a deadly virus.
comment posted at 5:22 PM on Jul-3-12

Almost sixty years ago, a BBC satirical review created a segment to mark current events in Mississippi. Almost sixty years later, Millicent Martin's song and dance number still has the power to shock. (slyt, nsfw, inflammatory/racist language, etc.)
comment posted at 5:05 AM on Jun-23-12

Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp., repeatedly lobbied Tony Blair to invade Iraq. In the days leading up to the invasion, Tony Blair's Director of Communications wrote that "(Blair) took a call from Murdoch who was pressing on timings, saying how News International would support us, etc. Both TB and I felt it was prompted by Washington, and another example of their over-crude diplomacy. Murdoch was pushing all the Republican buttons, how the longer we waited the harder it got." The phone call in question took place just days before a crucial vote on Iraq, and was one of three personal calls from Murdoch that Blair received in that week alone. Blair recently testified, admitting an "unhealthy" level of closeness with Murdoch, oftentimes communicating more with him than with his own ministers. In the first 19 days following the invasion of Iraq, Rupert Murdoch's Fox News averaged 3.3 million viewers, a 236% increase from the weeks preceding the war. Huge increases in newspaper sales were seen throughout his global media empire, with advertising revenue soaring to record levels. That empire now faces serious calls for it to be broken up.
comment posted at 1:56 PM on Jun-16-12


It is well known that the US military and their allies use unmanned aerial drones overseas in wars and other operations. But there are also hundreds in operation here in the U.S., according to records the Federal Aviation Administration has recently released. Local police departments already have used them in SWAT situations, and the Department of Homeland Security has given the green light for them to deploy a drone helicopter that can supposedly taze suspects from above as well as carrying 12-gauge shotguns and grenade launchersas well as providing surveillance. Congress has paved the way for as many as 30,000 drones in the skies over the US by 2020, which has privacy advocates alarmed. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has created a map with all of the organizations that have permits to use drones within the confines of the US.
comment posted at 9:06 AM on Apr-24-12

The film Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles just won the U.S. Documentary Competition Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and so we asked puzzlemaker Eric Harshbarger to give The film transcends the tabloid possibilities of this event. I'm struck by the pathos, somewhat discomfited by the personal resonance I felt for the creator of the tiles.
comment posted at 6:05 PM on Apr-7-12

Welcome to Omni Consumer Products. "First they came for the NHS and I said nothing because I was not sick. Then they came for the disabled people and those on benefits and I said nothing because I had an income and didn’t care what the ‘scroungers’ said. Then they came for the schools and I said nothing because I had no kids. Then they came for the police force with private/public partnerships and for speaking up, I received a baton to the face. The private guards looked at their targets and smiled: dissent down 35% this month."
comment posted at 4:04 AM on Mar-3-12

The Monkees' Davy Jones has died of a heart attack.
comment posted at 10:38 AM on Feb-29-12

Alan Turing, British code-breaker during WWII, imminent computer scientist, and much else has been denied a posthumous pardon from the British government for his 1952 conviction on charges of "Gross Indecency" because of his homosexuality.
comment posted at 4:51 PM on Feb-8-12

Finland votes – as visualized by national broadcasting company, click Sivakoikaa! (Ski!). (About the candidates). First round of Finland's presidential elections has finished with Sauli Niinistö (conservative) and Pekka Haavisto (green) winning 36.7% and 18.7% of votes. If no-one wins over 50% in the first round, the second round will be held amongst the top two candidates two weeks later. Haavisto has steadily doubled his share in polls, where Niinistö has halved his share from his best polls. Among his other achievements in international peace and being green, Haavisto could be the first openly gay elected head of the state.
comment posted at 2:17 PM on Jan-22-12



Rumours abound in the UK about secret plans by the current conservative government to offer Baroness Thatcher, lately of ill health, a state funeral nearly exclusively afforded to the Royal family.
comment posted at 3:22 PM on Jan-6-12
comment posted at 3:56 PM on Jan-6-12


An awkward moment in politics. (YouTube) While campaigning in a New Hampshire diner, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spotted local Bob Garon, a regular to the diner, eating his breakfast while wearing a Vietnam veteran's cap. “Vietnam veteran!” Romney greeted Bob, as he slid down onto the diner seat for a little chat. Unfortunately for Mitt, Bob was dining there that morning with his husband, and had to explain to Bob that his husband didn't deserve any of the benefits he fought for, and that the makers of the Constitution held marriage to be between a man and a woman. (Which doesn't really explain Mitt's great-grandfather Miles and his wives Hanna, Caroline, Catherine, Alice, and Emily, but stilll...)
comment posted at 5:13 PM on Dec-12-11


Was Dominique Strauss Kahn set up? This recent NYRB article suggests that there was some serious skullduggery going on, although that doesn't mean that DSK isn't guilty of something.
comment posted at 7:25 AM on Nov-27-11

The BBC broadcasted the science and technology showcase show Tomorrow's World (titles on piano) on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. Unlike the boosterism of US science programs, Tomorrow's World was more famous for it's live stunts and wry outlook ( James Burke experiences the "convenient" office of the future and the future of home gardening and crushing ennui). The BBC has an archive of episodes and clips for UK visitors, everyone else will have to be content with clips concerning Home Computers, New Banking, Nellie The School Computer, The Elliot Light Pen, Mobile Phones, and Moog Synthesizers.
comment posted at 11:07 AM on Nov-26-11

Hidden away in central London, The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice is a small public monument in Postman's Park, commemorating ordinary people who died saving the lives of others and might otherwise have been forgotten. It was unveiled in 1900 with plans for 120 memorial ceramic tiles, but by 1931 only 53 had been laid down. In 2009, the first new tablet in 78 years was added. Individual collection of the tiles. A blog post about the memorial.
comment posted at 1:46 PM on Nov-20-11

Following a months-long investigation, the Department of Justice has announced the existence of a well-funded plot "conceived, sponsored and directed" by "high-ranking members of the Iranian government" to assassinate Saudi Arabian ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir on U.S. soil in conjunction with informants in Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas. The "Hollywood" plot, revealed in an afternoon press conference and described in a detailed 21-page complaint [PDF], is alleged to have involved an attack on the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, D.C. One suspect, naturalized American citizen Arbab Arbabsiar, has been arrested, while co-conspirator and Quds Force member Gholam Shakuri remains at large. Iranian officials were quick to label the charges a "fabrication" intended to distract from America's economic troubles.
comment posted at 2:52 PM on Oct-11-11

Give us this day our daily Myles. Sir Myles na gCopaleen's daily column, the Cruiskeen Lawn, ran for 26 years in the Irish Times. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Brian O'Nolan, the man behind na gCopaleen (and whose novels in English - At Swim Two-Birds, The Third Policeman, and The Dalkey Archive, were published under the name Flann O'Brien) the Irish Times is republishing a column a day for the month of October.
comment posted at 2:13 PM on Oct-6-11

Amanda Knox freed by Italian appeals court An Italian appeals court has thrown out the 2009 convictions of herself and her co-defendent, and has ordered Amanda Knox to be freed immediately.
comment posted at 1:59 PM on Oct-3-11

The State of France has banned prayers in public starting Friday in a move widely seen as being targeted at (what might be) the largest Muslim community in Western Europe.
comment posted at 5:01 PM on Sep-17-11


"There's just so much science, nature, music, arts, technology, storytelling and assorted good stuff out there that my kids (and maybe your kids) haven't seen. It's most likely not stuff that was made for them... But we don't underestimate kids around here." [Via.]
comment posted at 8:32 AM on Aug-25-11

From 1999 to 2003, the largely-female UK comedy trope Smack The Pony had a series of short skits based on video dating ads. Youtube user myLastTears has edited them together into a supercut: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
comment posted at 3:06 PM on Aug-21-11
comment posted at 3:29 PM on Aug-21-11

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