Bored kid on a Friday night in 1974 in the States? The Midnight Special. Bored kid on a Friday night in the UK? The Old Grey Whistle Test! Wha… huh? On a shoestring budget of just £500 an episode, for 16 years the BBC2s OGWT played host to live performances* from some of the most influential musicians of the time at their artistic peaks. Like who? Well, there's… [more inside]
posted by Civil_Disobedient on Sep 9, 2009 - 56 comments

Scientists draw squid using its 150 million-year-old fossilised ink. [more inside]
posted by Astro Zombie on Aug 24, 2009 - 33 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

Expiration Notice is an on-line magazine dedicated to work by emerging photographers over 35. An interesting counterpoint to the usual hyping of "young and emerging artists." (via)
posted by klausness on May 6, 2009 - 4 comments

There's the fascinating autistic musical savant Blind Tom Wiggins. There are musical clowns and minstrels, and poignant images of child musicians. There are tantalizing and truly exotic images of musicians from far-flung corners of the world: India, Persia, China, Japan... all this and more at the Vintage Musicians Flickr group. Oh, and who's that critter with the banjo? Why, that may just be the ORIGINAL LOL CAT.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Feb 26, 2009 - 11 comments

User El_Greco of the SkyscaperCity Forum presents "Lost London", an absolutely stunning photographic thread of old London architecture.
posted by 6am on Feb 25, 2009 - 21 comments

I just love to watch old people dancing. I hope that when I'm this old, I'll be able to do the same!
posted by not_on_display on Jan 9, 2009 - 35 comments

"I didn't intend to go without sex for a decade and a half. But celibacy isn't something you necessarily plan."
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Dec 9, 2008 - 161 comments

Poladroid is a free app for your mac that lets you drag an image onto the polaroid camera in the corner of your screen. it then spits out a polaroid image that develops on your desktop. there's a flickr group for these shots already. [more inside]
posted by krautland on Nov 19, 2008 - 39 comments

Bernt Aune's corneas are 123 years old, which possibly makes them the oldest living human tissue on record. [more inside]
posted by andeles on Oct 30, 2008 - 27 comments

Daughter of a slave casts vote for Obama. As the centenarian looks forward to turning 110 later this year, let's all take a moment to celebrate centenarians... and, of course, try to work out just how on earth they made it this far. High levels of vitamins A and E seem to play a role, or of course you could just be lucky enough to be from Okinawa or Sardinia. Whatever the reason, they sure know how to live. And as we've seen previously, they're fascinating people.
posted by showbiz_liz on Oct 27, 2008 - 35 comments

Young@Heart. What started as a 2006 British television documentary and became an audience favorite at the Los Angeles and Sundance film festivals in 2007 and 2008 opens across the United States this weekand will soon open in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Australia. The opening sequence showing Eileen Hall , then 92 , singing the 1982 hit from punk-rock group The Clash provided the inspiration for director Stephen Walker when he first saw the group on stage in London in 2005. Besides giving new meaning to lyrics from popular hits, the film is comedic and poignant as it explores friendship, old age and death.
posted by mrducts on Apr 13, 2008 - 24 comments

Like sprites? The People's Sprites has the most extensive repository of old game pixel art I've ever seen.
Some good examples from:
Battletoads, Excitebike, Final Fantasy GBA, Mega Man, Metal Slug, Mortal Kombat, Punch-Out, River City Ransom, Shinobi, Samurai Shodown, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, and my favorite, Super Metroid.
Hundreds more at the site, plus original and public domain ones.
posted by BlackLeotardFront on Mar 30, 2008 - 17 comments

120 pages of old logos, scanned from a 1970s book called “World of Logotypes.”
posted by tepidmonkey on Mar 18, 2008 - 20 comments

Buster Martin is an old man. This 101 year old Brit intends to run the London Marathon. He is, as you may guess, the sprightliest centenarian you've ever seen. Last year, after leaving a pub, he was jumped by some hoodlums, but managed to beat them off when he "pushed one and kung fu kicked the other." [more inside]
posted by whimsicalnymph on Mar 7, 2008 - 42 comments

Pink Floyd fans may not need no education but Gilmourish, an exhaustive review of the guitars and audio effects of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour (with help from an insider), will leave most comfortably numb.
posted by punkfloyd on Oct 19, 2007 - 35 comments

Do you know the way to San Jose? I found this googling for map images for an animated title sequence I am doing. Wow. A treasure trove of antique maps of every age, description and location.
posted by ranchocalamari on Oct 12, 2007 - 15 comments

Interviews with 100-year-olds:
(Short): Quick NPR interview with a guy who works on Wall Street.
(Medium): A series of small segments with the oldest graduate of Gilbert High School.
(Long): Part of WFMU's 365 day project. Restored tape from 1978, on which it appears a young student is interviewing an old lady from Kansas.
posted by Alex404 on Aug 12, 2007 - 8 comments

Remember all that talk about the Gulf stream turning south and England entering an new Ice Age?
Well, better take a look at this one: (at the bottom)... Ok, this is the Jet stream, not the Gulf stream, but turbulence is turbulence and chaotic systems have a way of quickly migrating to new attractors, often first displaying a kind of turbulence during the transition phase. Here's a link to a .pdf that may be helpful (or not...)
I tell you - Winnipeg (Canada's Global Warming Success Story) just keeps lookin' better and better! But, hopefully, never this good...
posted by sporb on Jul 24, 2007 - 11 comments

A bowhead whale was recently killed off the coast of Alaska. When its hunters carved it up, they discovered someone else had attempted to kill it- more than a century earlier.
posted by the duck by the oboe on Jun 13, 2007 - 83 comments

廃道レポート・東北の廃道・旧道・国道・県道・林道.
posted by hama7 on May 13, 2007 - 90 comments

What happens when people get old?
posted by miss lynnster on May 12, 2007 - 45 comments

Before RSS and personalized aggregators such as Personalized Google and NetVibes, there was CRAYON, a service that allowed you to "CReAte Your Own Newspaper" by providing a page with links to chosen sources. [mi]
posted by divabat on Mar 28, 2007 - 11 comments

The Open Secret. "They were a light in the dark ... This is who and what I am; this is my tribe — and, look, I’m famous and life is fun". Matthew Parris sings the praises of those old British poofs, the camp, safe, funny gays that your mum liked. All together now I'm Free! more more
posted by grahamwell on Mar 18, 2007 - 35 comments

David Gonterman is still alive. Gonterman was last mentioned here five years ago. Gonterman has become a long-time Deviant. Gonterman is accepting comissions via his journal. Gonterman is writing a "part autobiography" about a boy who was teased in school and retreated into a fantasy land. Gonterman has made available the first part of this novel (doc). Gonterman has made available the first part of his new furry PI comic series (pdf). If you don't know Gonterman, you are fortunate: this is Gonterman.
posted by 6am on Jan 20, 2007 - 19 comments

Laughter seems to be just as contagious as yawning.

(Popcorn Post, Youtube, Old People, Babies, Southerners, A kitten, and the word "Cuteums")
posted by Lord_Pall on Jan 4, 2007 - 20 comments

The Internet Before its Time. Telidon was a novel "two-way TV" system that debuted in Canada in 1978. It used NAPLPS, a basic vector-graphics protocol, for presentation and operated over a 1200 bps modem. It was never a commercial or technological success, but I was 10, it was 1981 and I was playing hangman... ONLINE.
posted by GuyZero on Mar 30, 2006 - 25 comments

Out along old Route 66 in Northern Arizona is Canyon Diablo. Best known for its large meteor crater, the canyon and its surroundings contain another fantastic story. It begins in the mid 1870’s with a Apache raid on the Navajo that ended in the gruesome death of some 50 Apaches trapped in what is now called “The Apache Death Cave”. The story picks up about 10 years later in 1880 when the Atlantic and Pacific railroad ran out of money at the canyon’s edge. Unable to progress any further a make shift boom town grew up over night. Said to be more dangerous than Tombstone and Dodge City combined, the first sheriff appointed at 3pm was dead by 8pm that same night. The city of Canyon Diablo lasted 10 grizzly years, ending only when the US Army was dispatched to gain control over the murder, theft and prostitution that ran rampant. The story continues in 1920 at the inception of Route 66. Harry E. (Indian) Miller, opens up one of the first and what would become one of the most elaborate Route 66 trading posts/gas station/curio shop/ tourist attractions. Named Two Guns, it was complete with Hopi made buildings, a gas station, a well-lit “Death Cave” , a “zoo” of filled with the local fauna. and lots of colorful characters. In a short time, the roadside stop began to take on what many by that time calling the curse of Canyon Diablo. Shady business deals, fires, maimings, and murder abounded. After several attempts thru the 50’s and 60’s to rebuild ,all that is left is a crumbling, beautiful husk.
posted by BrodieShadeTree on Feb 21, 2006 - 28 comments

B - Lite He is white. He is blind. He is a rapper with an old school sound. And he may worship Satan. Sea Cruise is my fave but MeFiers will probably dig Wall - Mart. Mp3s on right.
posted by vronsky on Nov 20, 2005 - 22 comments

A creepy old man, known as Mr. Six, has spent the last couple of years dancing on commercials for Six Flags amusement parts. He's clearly a fake old man (a young person in makeup). So who plays Mr. Six? Six Flags won't say, many people speculate, but this guys thinks he knows.
posted by grumblebee on Jul 26, 2005 - 76 comments

Odd Books dedicated to that constant source of delight and wonder, the second-hand bookshop. (via)
posted by crunchland on Jul 15, 2005 - 11 comments

So BoingBoing recently linked to this fantastic comic book serial from the 60s entitled "This Godless Communism," a surprisingly in-depth (and hilariously slanted) history of the rise of the USSR, its leaders, and their philosophies. It's great, but it is far from the only thing on the site, the Authentic History Center. Just looking at the other comics and cartoons they have, there is a huge amount of ancient political cartoons, fantastic WWII-military-themed comic strips(surprisingly good!), and generally awesome period-relevant comic book covers, some of which link to full comics (Donald Duck's Atom Bomb?!). There is a collection of embarassing shows of race-sploitation in comics in the 70s, and the racist toys and artifacts section would make Archie Bunker blush (Chop Suey Specs!). Guaranteed to make you wince and chin-stroke simultaneously.
posted by BlackLeotardFront on Jul 11, 2005 - 43 comments

Mamie Van Doren's Blog.
posted by Silky Slim on May 21, 2005 - 29 comments

Commentary, insights, and first impressions of the new Star Wars film, "Return of the Jedi."
posted by Snyder on May 19, 2005 - 39 comments

Faces young and old, mothers and children, dolls; hunting rabbit, making fire, dancing: Archived photographs of Arizona's Indians from the turn-of-the-twentieth. Plus reference materials.
posted by breezeway on Apr 7, 2005 - 8 comments

Judy Henske. One of The Great Lost Artists of the early 60's folk/blues revival. An original among hacks and pretenders. Forgotten by most beloved by many, including crime novelist Andrew Vachss. A torch singer worthy of the name.
posted by jonmc on Jan 19, 2005 - 26 comments

Old Hampshire Mapped.
posted by plep on Oct 15, 2004 - 8 comments

A great old animation (5.4MB quicktime) set to a wonderful song Old Tin Can.
posted by thebabelfish on Apr 14, 2004 - 11 comments

Another Magnificent Obsession is born. The fiance of a friend just gave me her small collection of antique radios that they won't have room for in their new place. While looking for care instructions, I discovered a whole new subculture where art, science, design, and craftsmanship co-exist. They don't make 'em like this anymore, folks.
posted by keswick on Apr 4, 2004 - 13 comments

The Old Telephone Company, Essex, England
posted by hama7 on Mar 12, 2004 - 7 comments

Old Crank: Vintage Phonographs and Ephemera
posted by hama7 on Sep 12, 2003 - 12 comments

yeah, I've done alot in my retirement. Habib a spritely young whip of a lad has been drawing his pension since 1938, remarkable.
posted by johnnyboy on May 22, 2003 - 12 comments

Illuminated manuscripts are truly a joy to behold. And there are a remarkable number of them available on the web for your viewing pleasure. The most famous illuminated MS is the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. For galleries with multiple images, try the resources at DScriptorium, Web Gallery of Art, and the Leaves of Gold exhibition. Elyse Boucher's page is a work-in-progress detailing the history and methods of illuminating books, with both images and secondary sources; see also Sue Wood's Art and Books page.
posted by thomas j wise on Apr 30, 2003 - 10 comments

A bunch of very beautiful Old Japanese Maps has been put online. Java application Insight(tm) required to view and includes a nifty GIS application to overlay old maps on current maps with 3-D animated fly-throughs. State of the art in online map presentation "The digital images are even better than the originals because you can amplify them, rotate them to look at them from different angles," Mr. Zhou said. "In practical terms, this is a better way of using the material than actually coming here to see the pieces."
posted by stbalbach on Apr 13, 2003 - 5 comments

Things you swore you'd never do, but now are Just how old do you feel? I've been definately feeling that whole year older today until I took this test and found out I'm only 37% an old fogie. Yes!
posted by feelinglistless on Oct 31, 2001 - 57 comments

The Froggy Page was the Cool Site of the Day from August 8, 1994. It's the oldest site archived there without the disclaimer, "site no longer live". The page sure looks like it was built in '94 -- not even a single table! (Can anyone who was coding back then confirm if the code is really that old?) Does anyone have a favorite site from those good old days?
posted by mattpfeff on Sep 27, 2001 - 36 comments

Buddy Ebsen's 93, and he's written a book, and it's got hot sex in it! Go git 'em, Uncle Jed!
posted by luser on Jun 6, 2001 - 3 comments

Oldest liveing organism found in salt cave in New Mexico. 250 million and counting. What gets me is this quote: ``If something can survive 250 million years, what's the difference .. another 250 or longer,'' wonder if digital data can be stored in bacterium.
posted by stbalbach on Oct 20, 2000 - 7 comments