"It was no accident that arts funding was once again brought to national attention with the exhibit Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture. Since the 80s, the enemies of the NEA have not been those with differences of opinion about what art should be supported or how. Instead they oppose any support at all for art of any kind." Hide/Seek, Culture Wars and the History of the NEA (NSFW, art)
posted by The Whelk on Nov 1, 2011 - 115 comments

Reconstructing nostalgic childhood food at Grant Achatz Next Restaurant. Background on 'Eater'. Previous menu of 1906 Paris. The business behind Next. Moléculaire!
posted by growabrain on Oct 22, 2011 - 33 comments

Hugh Grant's Linda Tripp. The movie star puts his press pass in his hat band and makes the front page with an exposé of a paparazzi. [more inside]
posted by Diablevert on Apr 13, 2011 - 35 comments

Kenneth Grant, who has died aged 86, was probably the last living link to the voluptuary, occultist and megalomaniac Aleister Crowley; after Crowley’s death Grant co-edited and published many of the self-styled mystic’s writings, but he also became involved in a protracted wrangle over his own claim to be Crowley’s heir. Via.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn on Apr 5, 2011 - 34 comments

Followup-Filter: Former BART Ofcr. Johannes Mehserle, who shot and killed Oscar Grant, has been sentenced after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter [previously]. Although the jury originally did not believe the officer's story - that he had intended to reach for and fire his taser but grabbed his firearm instead - the prosecution offered insufficient evidence to show that the use of his firearm was intentional. Former Ofcr. Mehserle will spend 2 years in prison for the shooting.
posted by thesmophoron on Nov 6, 2010 - 82 comments

I really didn't want to be the one to post this, but there are riots raging in Oakland.
posted by MaxK on Jan 8, 2009 - 362 comments

SLSGPP (Single Link Streaming Grant Park Post) [more inside]
posted by Smedleyman on Nov 4, 2008 - 43 comments

"One of the biggest examples of the planned obsolescence of modern American capitalism...is the razor. The two blade razor, then the three blade razor, then the five blade razor. Um, these things are okay but...mostly not good. You've gotta go counterintuitive..." [more inside]
posted by 6am on Apr 28, 2008 - 115 comments

When Scientists Go Bad
posted by MetaMonkey on Oct 27, 2006 - 26 comments

President Ulysses S. Grant: Civil Rights Hero. A reappraisal of a president considered ineffective and mired in scandal.
posted by pandaharma on Jul 4, 2006 - 17 comments

Grant McLennan, of the Australian group The Go-Betweens, has died in his sleep at the age of 48. I just discovered this wonderful band, through the pop masterpiece 16 Lovers Lane. If you haven't discovered them, many mp3 blogs are paying tribute. (Some discussion in this Metatalk thread, but I thought this needed an FPP.)
posted by barjo on May 8, 2006 - 23 comments

"And the University of Chicago cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee." The Templeton Foundation recently gave U of C researchers a $1.8 million grant to study connections between religious beliefs and health. Those researchers have already done studies that suggest that religious faith helps reduce depression. It's not exactly faith healing, but some people aren't quite ready to shout "Amen!".
posted by goatdog on Apr 27, 2005 - 21 comments