MetaFilter

As I watched my anonymous photo upload, I felt a naughty pang–the type you have surely felt if you, like me, have ever cast your sexual desires out into the two-dimensional, glowing, public/private hybrid world that is the Internet. That first time you pressed “send,” there was a panic that it could all go very, very wrong—but it’s worth it, you think, because you’re kind of horny.
comment posted at 12:36 PM on Oct-9-12

The day will come when the words of Shakespeare are no longer known. Roger Ebert looks back on a long career and waxes philosophical.
comment posted at 4:07 PM on Feb-10-09

Young American woman eats praying mantis. Asian woman eats large black scorpion. Young Asian woman eating insect while exploitative Westerner goads her. Drunk American woman eats cicada, with much trepidation. Middle aged western man eats giant chinese cockroach. Katie eats a potato bug.
comment posted at 4:13 PM on Feb-10-09

Still considering your options in the Canadian federal election? Try The Undecided, a web site that compares platform planks from the five major parties and gives you the ability to compare your opinions and prioritize the issues. When you are done, you get an assessment of which party you are most closely aligned with. Of course if you are STILL undecided, there is always the Undecided Party..
comment posted at 12:18 AM on Sep-24-08

This, like many clichés, so lame and unexciting on the surface, actually expresses a great and terrible truth. It is not the least bit coincidental that adults who commit suicide with firearms almost always shoot themselves in: the head. They shoot the terrible master. And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger. And I submit that this is what the real, no bullshit value of your liberal arts education is supposed to be about: how to keep from going through your comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your head and to your natural default setting of being uniquely, completely, imperially alone day in and day out. That may sound like hyperbole, or abstract nonsense. Let's get concrete. The plain fact is that you graduating seniors do not yet have any clue what "day in day out" really means. There happen to be whole, large parts of adult American life that nobody talks about in commencement speeches. One such part involves boredom, routine, and petty frustration. The parents and older folks here will know all too well what I'm talking about. First reported by an anonymous tip to a blog, the Los Angeles Times has confirmed that David Foster Wallace has hung himself.
comment posted at 1:44 AM on Sep-19-08

The End Of The Internet
comment posted at 6:04 PM on Aug-1-08

In May 2006, we discussed switch pitcher Pat Venditte on MetaFilter. Many wondered: what kind of bizarre game-theoretic catastrophe would occur when the switch pitcher faced a switch hitter? Two years later, it has come to pass. (video)
comment posted at 10:33 AM on Jun-20-08

Two, Two, TWO disasters for the price of ONE... "Those filters filled to capacity last week (Bionaire people? You reading? Seven years, 911 AND Katrina? Good product, guys!), and begged me (in choked, dusty voices) to change them out, leaving me with several crud-packed plastic cartriges of joy, filled with whatever was floating in the air through two of our nation's greatest disasters. And, I'll bet there's some scientist or museum or conspiracist who could use them to run tests or decorate Christmas trees or sue the bejeebus out of the Federal Government or something."
comment posted at 10:07 AM on Jun-13-08

Robert Rauschenberg (previously), painter, sculptor, perfomance artist, printmaker, photographer, theater designer, technologist, dead at 82.
comment posted at 11:28 AM on May-13-08

Why don't you get yourself a little something? It's only $10!
comment posted at 5:45 PM on May-12-08

The Governmental Printing Office prints all United States passports but they decided that it was time to outsource part of the work. They claim it is secure [pdf].
comment posted at 10:07 AM on Mar-27-08

Did you know that two weeks ago - last Valentine's Day - a pact was signed in Texas allowing cross-border military activity between Canada and the US? I'd supply more links but there's not much out there.
comment posted at 10:33 AM on Feb-27-08

OCTOBER 22 IS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY!!! EVERY YEAR WE GET TOGETHER AND MAKE SALMON FOR TOAST, EVERY YEAR WE GET A CROCKETY BLOAT, EVERY YEAR WE GET DRUNK ON THE DOCKS, AND EVERY YEAR WE HAVE SEX WITH OUR CAPS LOCKS!!!!
comment posted at 11:46 AM on Oct-22-07

Stephen Colbert on the O'Reilly Factor. Bill O'Reilly on the Colbert Report
comment posted at 6:52 PM on Jan-19-07

Yesterduh. [more inside]
comment posted at 4:49 PM on Jun-16-06

AdAge reports that Apple is adding ads to iTunes. The ads will only appear if you're listening to a podcast and not while listening to your own music, according to the article. I suspect this will be greeted with the same enthusiasm as was the mini store that was included with iTunes 6.
comment posted at 2:47 PM on Apr-24-06

Why I am getting out of the Marines As I sit here I am still shaking. I can't take much more of this shit. I am a Marine Pilot. Not that it means anything anymore. Today was another safety stand down put on by the mother fuckers in DOSS. Why? Cause another one of my friends is dead and gone. Why? Cause he flew his shit into the water that's why. Why'd he do that? Cause the mother fuckers that "be" i.e. the boys at the top have lost their fucking minds and can't say no.
comment posted at 1:13 PM on Mar-13-06

Pantalaine has been making plural clothing since 1950? Imagine sweatpants with arm attachments, or even better, a couch dress.
comment posted at 2:16 PM on Feb-15-06
comment posted at 2:17 PM on Feb-15-06

*Look* both ways before you cross the street "The dangerous drawbacks of driving a hybrid: it's so quiet that pedestrians can't hear it when it's starting up or idling, and they often walk right into the path of the moving vehicle." I've got a feeling this is how I'm going to buy it. Oh well, like the lady said, if it's not one thing it's another. Tip of the hat to Kausfiles via Auto Blog.
comment posted at 2:05 PM on Feb-7-06

Wikipedia wrangling once more: the entire German edition was shut down this week over the contents of a single entry. The parents of the article's subject, a German hacker who died in 1998 under mysterious circumstances, are displeased with his real name being disclosed in the encyclopedia. It is now back online; however, the future of the family's efforts is currently unclear, not only due to the German order's debatable validity in the US - but also because the order was, initially at least, mistakenly addressed to St. Petersburg, Russia, instead of St. Petersburg, Florida.
comment posted at 5:42 PM on Jan-20-06
comment posted at 11:34 PM on Jan-26-06

Merry Christmas
comment posted at 12:28 PM on Dec-15-05

Second Life CEO turns in players name to the FBI for disrupting one of his virtual parties. In the world of Second Life any player can create objects using the built in scripting language. Some players have created self replicating "bombs" or hand out embedded pornography. Instead of just banning users or limiting what can be done with the scripting language the CEO Philip Rosendale is simply turning over the names of players straight to the feds and expecting the FBI to prosecute players under existing anti-DoS laws. A case of the bruised ego of a self-important CEO or are virtual world 'hackers/pranksters' best treated like common criminals?
comment posted at 12:39 PM on Dec-15-05

The narwhal, often termed "The Unicorn of the Sea," has a really odd tusk. It's long, spiraled, and there's only one of 'em per animal. Its purpose has been disputed for ages, but at long last, it seems that the answer has been found. And it's pretty damn cool.
comment posted at 11:47 AM on Dec-13-05

This Site Cannot Exist! Recently I've been seeing a lot of crazy talk around the web regarding the possibility of a purely "community driven" website. And it is FIERCE -- running the gamut from here to here to here . And, although the ongoing discussion is interesting (and centered around the pontification of one person), I couldn't help but think, "What the Hell is wrong with these people?" Community-owned blogging/websites have been alive and well for years. For example: Kuro5hin, Slashdot, Linkfilter, Plastic, and a growing host of sites using community platforms like Drupal and Scoop. Heck, all they'd have to do is head on over to Google and type in the words "Community Weblog" to discover the answer to their queries. That's right. At the top of the page staring them in the face is the grand-daddy of all community Blogging -- the pioneer that started it all -- Metafilter.com!! Is community blogging possible? Come on! Long live the Big "M"!!
comment posted at 10:51 AM on Dec-6-05

Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter 2 has too much dialog, but once it get's going, it totaly kicks ass.
comment posted at 4:26 AM on Dec-3-05

Dear Valued Hybrid Customer... I can't tell if this is a joke or something. As rhetoric, it's well done. As a reasoned argument it falls apart if you actually know anything at all about hybrids.
comment posted at 9:35 PM on Dec-2-05

Google pays $1 for every IE user converted to Firefox - but why? Google don't own Firefox, so is this only to piss off Microsoft?
comment posted at 3:22 PM on Dec-1-05

Borat likes you. Do you like Borat? Not everyone does. Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry is threatening to sue to prevent the country from being presented in a "derogatory way" by the caricature, a brainchild of UK comedian Sacha Boren Cohen, aka Ali G. [more inside, dziękuję]
comment posted at 6:09 PM on Nov-17-05

The Digital Dada Library. Because "any attempt to conciliate an inexplicable momentary state with logic strikes me as a boring kind of game."
comment posted at 3:17 PM on Nov-11-05

Protect your banana! Careful now. Don't bruise it!
comment posted at 2:31 AM on Nov-4-05
comment posted at 6:15 PM on Nov-11-05

Live tracking Thusday: Where are the interstellar probes? (and the objects in orbit?) Where is the lightning in Europe? Where is the fleet? Where is my flight? Where is tomorrow now? Where is your God now? Where is the magnetic north pole today? [J-track prev.]
comment posted at 2:21 AM on Nov-4-05

I have always viewed those large home improvement warehouse stores as dangerous places, but not exactly for this reason. Whew.
comment posted at 2:28 AM on Nov-4-05

Feeling a bit gay today? Don't worry, Hetracil can help.
comment posted at 11:49 AM on Nov-1-05

Cindy Sheehan for President Or Senate. The anti-war left seeks a challenger for Hillary Clinton
comment posted at 12:13 PM on Nov-1-05

"L" Train Won't Run on Weekends. Although the true hardcore won't be bothered -- because they never leave Brooklyn on the weekends -- this might cramp the style of the rest.
comment posted at 12:29 PM on Nov-1-05
comment posted at 12:35 PM on Nov-1-05

Look at me riding a luck dragon! Jealous? You're jealous....
comment posted at 2:11 AM on Oct-29-05

40 Things That Only Happen In Movies!
comment posted at 8:42 AM on Oct-3-05

ungreek.toolbot.com, alternate greeking for those days when you can't stand to read Lorem ipsum one more time.
comment posted at 8:51 AM on Oct-3-05

daily show slash fiction
comment posted at 2:04 AM on Sep-27-05

Cats in sinks. Nothing less, nothing more.
comment posted at 6:58 PM on Aug-30-05

Oakland police detaining photographers? A month after being stopped for taking photos of another building in San Francisco, blogger Thomas Hawk & some friends were detained for 20 minutes by an Oakland police officer for taking photos in the downtown warehouse district. Among the topics of debate in the post's comments: was racial profiling an issue? is/should there even be a right to take the officer in question's photo? are SF residents more paranoid than the rest of us? is detaining a group of photographers a good use of police time? will commenters ever learn to spell "fascist" properly? and much more...
comment posted at 12:43 AM on Aug-27-05

An Open Letter to young Ryland Kallman
(to be delivered on the occasion of his 18th birthday)

Dear Ryland: We, the citizens of the internet, apologize for the way in which you were raised, and we will try to bear in mind the adversity you faced as an child before passing judgement on your actions as an adult. Thanks to this article we were all aware of the psychic trauma inflicted by your mother (aka "The Martha Stewart of Parenting™"), but as simple bloggers and computer programmers, we were powerless to stop this abuse. It is our hope that upon this day of the symbolic beginning of your adult life, you will be able to read this history of your early years, and to reflect on the toxic culture of insecurity and fear that was the undoing of so many good people of your parents' generation. It may be difficult to face these facts, but chances are you're reading this online, and (assuming the internet is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart by 2023) there are millions of people here who can help you work through these issues. Also Ryland, we apologize for your name.
comment posted at 11:01 PM on Aug-23-05
comment posted at 11:36 PM on Aug-23-05

Remember the mysterious Piano Man? Well, he got better.
comment posted at 7:24 PM on Aug-22-05

Timeline. I found this strangely riveting even though it is just a simple clock [flash].
comment posted at 12:33 AM on Aug-21-05
comment posted at 7:28 PM on Aug-22-05