From Michigan to Nebraska, from Washington State to North Carolina, anonymous donors have been paying off "layaway" tabs for holiday-shopping families.
posted by Potomac Avenue on Dec 16, 2011 - 82 comments

For safety's sake, please consider all links herein either nsfw or potentially offensive* Let's Have a Shambles! with the Country Teasers! Formed somewhere in Scotland in 1993 around one Ben Wallers, the Country Teasers forged an unusual contrast between acerbic lyrics, trash punk twang, and honest affect(at)ion of country-western tropes and sounds. They were also equal opportunity offenders, their songs frequently featuring seemingly misanthropic, misogynistic, and even racist lyrics. But despite their affrontive controversy, perhaps they aren't quite so easy to dismiss. Though rarely does he give in-person interviews, Mr. Wallers will, when confronted, defend his "schlock tease," though not without characteristic aplomb. Although the Country Teasers are pretty much dead, their extensive discography has plenty of noteworthy diversions. Some albums to start with are 1996's Satan Is Real Again or Feeling Good About Bad Thoughts, 1999's Destroy All Human Life, and 2006's Back to the Future. Mr. Wallers continues to release new records under the moniker The Rebel. A number of Teaser records were released on In The Red records. *Although if you do find it offensive, I'd simply request considering if that is perhaps the point.
posted by SomaSoda on Nov 9, 2011 - 5 comments

Our Universe consists of between thirty to fifth billion trillion stars, arranged in eighty to one-hundred-forty billion galaxies. Our nearest neighboring star is called Proxima Centauri and it's four light years away. We need some bread, but it's really hot outside and I can't be bothered to walk around the corner. Try to make sense of the things that you think.
posted by Lord_Pall on Aug 30, 2010 - 47 comments

Jezebel has released the full official LOST epilogue from the Season 6 DVD bonus features.
posted by emilyd22222 on Aug 6, 2010 - 78 comments

There will be a 12-14 minute epilogue on the Lost complete series collection that will reveal a little bit of two characters being a "great number one" and "great number two". Also, a round-up of some amazing post-Lost finale observations from around the Web, beginning with a Bad Robot intern's pontifications on the finale and the meaning of the series. More inside ... [more inside]
posted by WCityMike on May 27, 2010 - 122 comments

Oy coom too berry Sayzurr, nut too preyze im. That's a reconstruction of how Brutus's famous speech from "Julius Caesar" may have sounded to Shakespeare's original audience. (Scroll down in the linked page for the rest of the speech -- or look inside this post.) If you'd like to learn more about Original Pronunciation (OP), check out www.pronouncingshakespeare.com, where you'll find several recordings by David Crystal, the scholar who probably knows most about the subject. You can also listen to this example or this NPR broadcast, first linked to in this 2005 post, here. Ben Crystal, David's son, tries some OP here. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Jan 28, 2010 - 34 comments

Costumed patriots channel forefathers: coming to a civic center near you! Need a little pump up music?
posted by sredefer on Aug 9, 2009 - 12 comments

Ben Bernanke - SLYT. (via (via))
posted by zonem on Sep 15, 2008 - 67 comments

Sequel to Guy Catches Sunglasses With Face It wasn't too long ago that we had a look at Guy Catches Sunglasses With Face. Here is the sequel, Bobbing For Glasses. Both videos are from artist Ben Kaller, who has worked on most of Spike Jonze' best stuff, among other things. His brother Jeremy Kaller is also a talented director, who recently released a a documentary about the progressive recycling scene in San Francisco.
posted by poppo on Jul 17, 2007 - 23 comments

Ben's Chili Bowl, a Washington, DC institution if ever there was one, has put up a site. This eatery was opened in the 50's, when U St. NW in DC was the 'Black Broadway', survived the riots (and the ensuing economic disintegration) and is going strong today, still run by the family that opened it. Next time you're in DC, go in and order a few half-smokes just like Bill Cosby does - he and his wife had their first date there - and say hello to Mrs. Ali. If you already live in DC, rejoice in the new online ordering interface and have your chili cheeseburger waiting for you when you breeze through the door.
posted by GriffX on May 11, 2002 - 12 comments