A 47 year old NYC photographer says to hell with it. He takes his 10 thousand dollars or so and buys a spot of land. You are miles and miles from anywhere. John Wells wants to build something for himself and inspire others. John has built the Field Lab and invites all who are interested to explore the idea of living off the grid... that is to use only the power you produce and eat what you grow. He has gotten a little attention...but for the most part has stayed out of the spotlight. You can follow his day to day blog and live a little vicariously. Note: If you want a tour...show up with a six pack or something. Its a long drive to town and he will forever be your friend.
posted by shockingbluamp on Nov 29, 2009 - 38 comments

Just ease on into one of the most laid-back grooves to ever weave its way through a New Orleans junkyard, and join the procession as the estimable Dr. John is led through the rusting automobiles on a mule. After that, you'll be ready to enter the Inner Sanctum of Deep Mystic Hoodoo, with the good Doctor as your intoning, night tripping guide through the Zu Zu Mamou hallucinations. You won't be the same, afterwards...
posted by flapjax at midnite on Nov 27, 2009 - 22 comments

Writer, director, producer John Hughes has passed away. Responsible for hilarious Vacations, quirky boyfriends, Ferris' Day Off, a young boy being left Home Alone and the Shermer IL multiverse. If you liked films in the 80s, you liked John Hughes.
posted by crossoverman on Aug 6, 2009 - 234 comments

"Smells Like Sloop John B", a mashup of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B".
posted by rageagainsttherobots on Apr 20, 2009 - 35 comments

It's harder to be more obscure and unheralded than John Henry Timmis IV. He barely even tried to sell his own music, almost always giving copies away of his impossibly rare loner-punk 45's. Dieing in 2002, almost 15 years after his last single, from complications resulting from alcoholism, after suffering from the degenerative ear/skull disease mastoiditis-- his potential hardly tapped... until now. Film buffs may know him as the director/producer of the longest movie ever made, The Cure for Insomnia staring Lee Groban reading his same titled 4,080 page poem spliced with porn and heavy metal, clocking in at 87 hours. Virtually unknown until the song "Death Trip" appeared on an obscure bootleg punk compilation Staring Down the Barrel. Interest peaked enough for Plastic Crimewave's Secret History of Chicago Music article to have a write up on him and Drag City/Galactic Zoo to reissue his forgotten masterpiece, Cosmic Lighting. [more inside]
posted by wcfields on Mar 17, 2009 - 7 comments

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Now watch the greatest fight in movie history (SLYT).
posted by Cool Papa Bell on Mar 17, 2009 - 27 comments

As jazz fans know, fifty years ago on March 2, 1959, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb met at the Columbia 30th Street Studios in NYC for the first session of Miles new album, Kind of Blue. (Link goes to the 50th anniversary collector's box set edition page at amazon.) It was the touchstone for many other future recordings bearing its mighty influence and it fostered several high profile careers, and a new modal sound for jazz. Kind of Blue went on to be certified platinum, selling 4 million records, the most ever for a jazz album. Bill Evans had left the band in late 1958, but was called back by Miles for the sessions, which included his new pianist Wynton Kelly on one track only, Freddie Freeloader. The tunes they did that day, "So What", "Blue in Green" (written by Evans, though credited to Miles) and "Freeloader" all became standards as did "All Blues" from the April session. Documentaries and entire books have been written on this one album alone. The phenomenon lives on. (previously on AskMeFi, but just on Trane and Miles.)
posted by Seekerofsplendor on Mar 3, 2009 - 71 comments

John Pfaff. Five Myths about Prison Growth.
posted by wittgenstein on Feb 21, 2009 - 36 comments

John Martyn: 11th September 1948 - 29th January 2009
posted by Kiwi on Jan 29, 2009 - 35 comments

It's almost as good as being at John Ashbery's home (bio) and there's more, including a preliminary inventory of his library* (search for "inventories" or scroll down). Ashbery's poetry is still very much invested in the reader's pleasure—more so than many supposedly "approachable" poets. You can hear him read his poems (more), watch him (here's -transcript- a brief taste and a half-hour video) or read a few of his poems. [more inside]
posted by ersatz on Jan 28, 2009 - 20 comments

When the modern oil industry began 150 years ago, many speculators moved into Northwestern Pennsylvania. Among them was John Wilkes Booth, who walked off the stage and onto the oil fields in an attempt to increase his fortunes with the Dramatic Oil Company. [more inside]
posted by hoppytoad on Jan 10, 2009 - 4 comments

Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very, very much for waiting! And now, won't you welcome please the isolated bass of John Entwistle. (Good stuff at 01:22 on second link).
posted by punkfloyd on Dec 13, 2008 - 21 comments

John Gill is the father of modern bouldering. In the early 1960s, he took his gymnastics training in to the field and pioneered the use of chalk and dynamic moves in climbing. In 1961, he climbed the 30 foot height of The Thimble, widely considered to be the first 5.12 ascent in the world, and did so without a rope.

A devotee of body weight exercises, he could perform a one-arm front lever and several one-finger pull-ups. During his time as a gymnast he engaged in competitive rope climbing (formerly an Olympic sport), which is making a bit of a comeback in the Czech Republic (if you think it looks too easy, try it with one arm). [more inside]
posted by 0xFCAF on Dec 12, 2008 - 16 comments

You may have heard of John Ziegler. A former right-wing talk radio host turned right-wing documentarian, he was once the subject of a well-known David Foster Wallace essay about conservative talk radio. Ziegler later gained some notoriety by slamming Wallace heartlessly after the author committed suicide, calling him an overrated writer and criticizing the press for its coverage of his death. Now, Ziegler has once again made waves by going nuclear in an interview with pollster-watcher Nate Silver over the legitimacy of a commissioned Zogby poll. Silver questions the value of the poll, which contains leading questions, and which Ziegler plans on using in his upcoming documentary to "numerically prove" that Obama supporters are grossly misinformed idiots. [more inside]
posted by billysumday on Nov 19, 2008 - 70 comments

John Leonard is dead. A literary prodigy at thirty-two when asked to edit the New York Times Book Review, Leonard oversaw the NYTBR's glory days between 1971 and 1975. Television critic for New York, monthly books critic for Harper's, regular contributor to The Nation and The New York Review of Books, he also went out of his way to help young writers.
posted by ed on Nov 6, 2008 - 14 comments

Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is in Another Castle. John Darnielle (of the Mountain Goats) and Kaki King perform a song, sung from the point of view of Toad from the Super Mario Brothers video game franchise.
posted by PM on Sep 11, 2008 - 59 comments

Spy music! Whether it's Lalo Schifrin's theme for Mission Impossible, or Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Man from U.N.C.L.E., or the greatest of them all, John Barry's iconic James Bond theme, you know it when you hear it. Now, for my money, the best spy music in recent years wasn't from a spy movie at all, but an animated superhero film: the action-packed theme and soundtrack for The Incredibles, in which the very talented Michael Giacchino was clearly (and brilliantly) channeling John Barry. And of course, you'll all want to head over here and see what your fellow MeFiers have lately been doing with the genre. [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Aug 1, 2008 - 54 comments

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road with Dr. Teeth and friends [more inside]
posted by wheelieman on Jun 12, 2008 - 35 comments

OH JOHN RINGO NO. [more inside]
posted by i_am_a_Jedi on May 2, 2008 - 45 comments

John Oliver's "The Meter Is Running" is a loving* look back at the history of FOX News. [more inside]
posted by chuckdarwin on Apr 11, 2008 - 34 comments

I was watching Back to the Future Part II today, and realized that their idea of the world in 2015 doesn't really seem all that feasible now. While I was watching, I happened to come across this interesting piece in the now-free Sports Illustrated archives: a feature, written in 1979, on how the NFL would look in the year 2000. The full article is pretty long, but if you want the highlights, they're right here.
posted by SportsFan on Mar 24, 2008 - 32 comments

Half life: Full Life Consequences! Cartoon version! Based on the first piece of fan fiction to ever be critically acclaimed. [more inside]
posted by oxford blue on Feb 5, 2008 - 29 comments

'Daydream Believer' writer Stewart, who came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of folk music's Kingston Trio, died Saturday at a San Diego hospital after suffering a brain aneurism. He was 68. The Monkees version of his biggest hit. But Stewart, one of our greatest singer/songwriters never achieved the level of fame many of us felt he deserved. No matter, he seemed to prefer the intimacy of small clubs and released dozens of albums, like the timelessCalifornia Bloodlines and scores of other beautiful songs, such as July, You Are A Woman, Walk On the Moon and his own aged like a fine bourbon rendition of Daydream Believer.
posted by dawson on Jan 21, 2008 - 23 comments

John Adams. NIXON IN CHINA. Excerpts: News has a kind of mystery. Act 1 Scene 3. Act 2 Scene 2a. I am the wife of Mao Tse Tung. Chairman Dances.
posted by wittgenstein on Jan 4, 2008 - 16 comments

Australia Votes. Polls have been predicting a Labor win for the past few weeks, and it's beginning to look like it just might happen. But that's not the real sport. [more inside]
posted by Neale on Nov 24, 2007 - 78 comments

John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Nov 13, 2007 - 30 comments

Dr. John C. Lilly introduced the world to dolphin intelligence (previous post), floatation tanks, early concepts of bioinformatics, and alas, during his later experiments with Ketamine ("Special K"), introduced us to an alleged group of extraterrestrials. [more inside]
posted by janetplanet on Sep 7, 2007 - 23 comments

MizPee works on your mobile phone to help you locate the nearest, cleanest bathroom.
posted by Dave Faris on Jul 3, 2007 - 25 comments

if you've not heard of the book "confessions of an economic hitman", then these few videos are gonna put your chins on the floor. it is disturbing how much the guy looks like george the second.
posted by 6am on Apr 19, 2007 - 48 comments

One down and one to go.
posted by bobbyelliott on Mar 31, 2007 - 69 comments

Fans of Flight Simulators and Michinima might be familiar with the adventures of Bill and John. If you're not, download episode 1 along with the subtitles and and familiarize yourself with a very funny piece of machinima, even more impressive because it's not only in Lock On: Modern Air Combat, but in French to boot. Well they're back, winning Best Picture at the Machinima 2006 film festival, The Adventures of Bill Et John II. Browse the rest of the nominees and winners on the Machinima.com festival page.
posted by Lord_Pall on Nov 12, 2006 - 7 comments

Who is John Dishwasher? "Follow the white box" beckoned a mysterious and inviting flyer posted at several Massachusetts colleges. The simple website contains an online publication of Gods of Our Fathers, the first of what is suggested to be many novels by this reclusive author. Is this the next lonelygirl13 or just a new take on the serialized novel? One thing's for sure: whoever made the website aims to intrigue with vaguely suggestive hints as to the author's personal life. "We do not forward personal mail to John Dishwasher. He will not accept it. The reason for this will become clear in his later works." Could this be the rabbithole to a new alternate reality game, or just a get rich quick scheme?
posted by Zephyrial on Sep 21, 2006 - 17 comments

The mystery of John Doe No. 24 outlived him. But this 1993 obituary in the New York Times, briefly covering what was known of a deaf, dumb, blind teenager found wandering the streets of Jacksonville in 1945, inspired a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, which in turn inspired Illinois journalist Dave Bakke to "meticulously reconstruct nearly fifty years of John Doe's life...using police reports, mental health records, oral interviews, newspapers" and write God Knows His Name: The True Story of John Doe No. 24.
posted by weston on Feb 22, 2006 - 16 comments

John Lennon: The Wenner Tapes. A BBC program centered around never-before-aired audio of Jann Wenner's benchmark 1970 Rolling Stone interview with John Lennon, available online for the first time at the BBC. (Text excerpts from the same interview.)
posted by BackwardsCity on Dec 5, 2005 - 19 comments

Author John Fowles, 79, died at home this weekend, after a lengthy illness. "I know I have a reputation as a cantankerous man of letters and I don't try and play it down" - John Fowles in 2003. One of the contemporary greats, author of The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Collector, The Magus... there seems like there should be more articles on this, but alas.
posted by eatdonuts on Nov 7, 2005 - 19 comments

John Peel's box of 142 favorite singles discussed in The Times and The Observer. These guys are collecting the whole set (NSFMPAA). [via Stereogum]
posted by Armitage Shanks on Oct 31, 2005 - 83 comments

Celebrating the life of John Peel: as we approach the first anniversary of John Peel's death, the BBC are preparing for the first John Peel Day on 13 October (marking the day of his last ever Radio 1 show). Things kick off with a concert tonight at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (broadcast tomorrow night on Radio 1) and over 300 gigs across the country. Meanwhile, Radio 4 will be broadcasting a special edition of Home Truths from John and Sheila's home in Suffolk on 22 October, including the naming of a locomotive diesel at Bury St Edmonds.
posted by ceri richard on Oct 12, 2005 - 13 comments

To the Citizens of the United States of America: In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. - John Cleese
posted by signal on Sep 16, 2005 - 61 comments

False Terrorist Organizations. Berkeley law prof. John Yoo has championed the War on Terrorism before in the now famous Yoo/Delahunty/Philbin Memos to the White House on the Geneva Convention. But the recent attacks in London, and the ever growing death toll in Iraq, are driving Yoo to push the envelope even further in search for a solution. He is now proposing that the US create a false terrorist organization. "It could have its own websites, recruitment centers, training camps and fundraising operations. It could launch fake terrorist operations and claim credit for real terrorist strikes..."-- But is it wise to compete with terrorists? What if they are more competitive than we are?
posted by derangedlarid on Jul 16, 2005 - 31 comments

Machine as romantic object. The short film “Deere John” explores how narrative archetype can humanize the inanimate (and is funny).
posted by stacyhall1 on May 17, 2005 - 10 comments

john bolton and group sex
do these revelations make him more or less qualified to serve as the united states ambassador to the UN?
posted by specialk420 on May 11, 2005 - 90 comments

Poguetry: "The Parting Glass: An Annotated Pogues Lyrics Page".
posted by mwhybark on Mar 17, 2005 - 16 comments

Bush Relatives for Kerry grew out of a series of conversations that took place between a group of people that have two things in common: they are all related to George Walker Bush, and they are all voting for John Kerry. As the election approaches, we feel it is our responsibility to speak out about why we are voting for John Kerry, and to do our small part to help America heal from the sickness it has suffered since George Bush was appointed President in 2000. We invite you to read our stories, and please, don't vote for our cousin!
posted by jackspace on Oct 21, 2004 - 10 comments

Will John Kerry reach higher market share then Steve Jobs? I love Errol Morris' documentaries, but is an art house film director and Apple pitch man really the right person to craft political ads aimed at persuading undecided voters?
posted by twsf on Jul 3, 2004 - 8 comments

Hillary Clinton as Kerry's V.P.? Let the speculations begin...
posted by Rastafari on Jun 30, 2004 - 57 comments

EFF co-founder John Gilmore was prevented from flying because he was wearing a button deemed to be in "poor taste" and refused to take it off. Seems he won't be flying anywhere for a while, unless he wins his court case. [Source: Boing Boing]
posted by cbrody on Jul 19, 2003 - 140 comments

Uh-oh-- I got a CD-ROM from John's site a few months ago. Am I on some CIA/FBI list now? (His site is down apparently.)
posted by aflakete on Jul 23, 2000 - 0 comments