The Great Red Herring Chase is like TypeRacer, but with a plot. Greg Wohlwend's other games are addictive, destructive/cute (previously), philosophical, and baffling. Next, he's taking on the exciting world of patent illustrations. But if your childhoood was anything like mine, his homepage will be your biggest productivity killer. (via)
posted by roll truck roll on Jul 28, 2009 - 5 comments

David Hart: L.A. Public Access TV Legend left me flabbergasted (video).
posted by Scoo on May 15, 2006 - 12 comments

Jim Abbott probably shouldn't have been a professional athlete. Born without a right hand, he defied the odds and grew up to be a major league pitcher. In 1991 he won 18 games for the Angels while posting a 2.89 ERA, in 1992 he pitched a no-hitter against Cleveland, and in 23 career at-bats, he amazingly got two hits (while playing for the Brewers). But Abbott (now a motivational speaker) wasn't the first handicapped professional baseball player. Pete Gray lost his entire right arm in a childhood truck accident and, due to the shortage of major league players during WWII, became an outfielder with the St. Louis Browns. His fielding, naturally, was unorthodox: After catching a fly ball, Gray would tuck his thinly padded glove under his stump, roll the ball across his chest, and throw, all in one fluid motion. But if those guys don't impress you, then what about Bert Shepard, who had his right leg amputated after his fighter plane crashed in Germany? The gutsy left-hander from Dana, Indiana taught himself to walk and then to pitch with an artificial leg -- all within the confines of a POW camp in Germany. The length of his major league career consisted of pitching five innings in one game for the Washington Senators. Then of course there was Lou Brissie, the only survivor of his WWII infantry unit, which was wiped out in battle. An exploding shell shattered Brissie's left leg, causing him to wear a brace during his pitching career. The 6'4" southpaw went 16-11 in 1949 for the Athletics and helped himself by batting .267. So...who's your favorite handicapped ballplayer? Eddie Gaedel?
posted by billysumday on May 24, 2005 - 31 comments

Sacred Sites. Martin Gray is an anthropologist and photographer specializing in the study of sacred sites and pilgrimage traditions around the world. Traveling as a pilgrim, Martin spent twenty years, visiting and photographing over 1000 sacred sites in eighty countries. 1000s of photos, Atlas of Sacred Sites, travel journal, etc..
posted by stbalbach on Nov 30, 2004 - 19 comments

Shades of Gray. "Environmental groups sent out a worldwide call to save the gray whale from a Mexican salt plant. They got millions of dollars and thousands of new members. But scientists found no threat to the whales." From part six of a series that explores the ecology of the gray whale, as well as the many different ways it touches various cultures, and some of the moral dilemnas that have emerged as a result.
posted by bingo on Mar 4, 2002 - 9 comments