MetaFilter posts tagged with secret

It's a secret to everyb-- well, to some people without google.

boo_radley — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:15:05 -0800

This ain't your daddy's TSR (but his name's on the cover)

Mezentian — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:11:55 -0800

Luke Gygax and E. Gary Gygax Jr, sons of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax have announced they have formed TSR Games. The company's first, brave, foray into the market will be a print publication: Gygax Magazine with a very familiar logo. Apparently D&D owner Wizards of the Coast (and its owners, Hasbro) the last trademarked “TSR” for a game company in 2003, opening the door for the Brothers Gygax to scoop up the name for their company Hexagonist Publishing LLC on May 25, 2011. To be published quarterly, Gygax is designed to cover independent and major publisher games such as Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, The One Ring, Shadowrun, Godlike, Labyrinth Lord, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Warhammer 40K, Traveller, and others, as well as classic out-of-print games with a modern following, like AD&D, Top Secret, and Gamma World. Although the new TSR is unconnected in any way with prior incarnations of the company, it does include several former employees and contributors of TSR Hobbies, notably Phil Foglio (What’s New With Phil and Dixie), Rich Burlew (Order of the Stick), Jim Ward and Cory Doctorow. It will no doubt complete for market share with Dragon Magazine. Dragon ceased publication in its original form in 2007, although it continues under WOTC has a digital publication, as does Dungeon.

Hidden Canadiana

yellowbinder — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 12:42:06 -0800

Visual effects artist Avi Salem reveals The CN Tower's secret messages. (via)

Happiness Happens

the man of twists and turns — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 01:10:39 -0800

It Ain't Over: The Business 9 Women Kept A Secret For Three Decades

Somewhere in West Tennessee, not far from Graceland, nine women -- or "The 9 Nanas," as they prefer to be called -- gather in the darkness of night. At 4am they begin their daily routine -- a ritual that no one, not even their husbands, knew about for 30 years. They have one mission and one mission only: to create happiness. And it all begins with baked goods.

The 9 Nanas have a webpage (with blog) and a Twitter feed.

Spill, Then Poof

netbros — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:11:22 -0800

When you send people passwords and private links via email or chat, there are copies of that information stored in many places. If you use a one-time link instead, the information persists for a single viewing which means it can't be read by someone else later. This allows you to send sensitive information in a safe way knowing it's seen by one person only. Think of it like a self-destructing message, a One Time Secret.

Of spies, special forces and drone strikes

kliuless — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:23:12 -0800

Warfare: An advancing front - "The US is engaged in increasingly sophisticated warfare, fusing intelligence services and military specialists" BONUS China: Police state - "China's security machine causes concern"

Many inside and outside the country believe the Communist party has reverted to a more authoritarian stance following a long period of relative tolerance. This change, they believe, is reflected in, and exacerbated by, the growing power of the security apparatus... In recent years the amount spent on internal security – police, courts, paramilitary forces, riot squads, secret agents, informants, surveillance, internet censorship and the like – has soared. At about Rmb624.4bn for 2011, it now exceeds the country's publicly stated military budget... One of the most obvious manifestations is the proliferation of surveillance cameras. Last month, the western municipality of Chongqing announced plans to expand its network from 310,000 to 510,000 by next year... Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, where almost 200 people died in the July 2009 riots, finished the installation of 40,000 cameras last year. The southern city of Guangzhou, one of the main export manufacturing hubs, boasts 270,000. The expansion of the bloated security apparatus extends to less palpable efforts, including the recruitment of huge numbers of informants to the state payroll... Leaked internal security documents reveal that the ruling Communist party believes that for a police state to work properly, it takes more than the police. "[We have] put the masses in their rightful role as the most important, the most direct and the most pure source of intelligence information," wrote Yang Guangwei, political commissar of the Domestic Security Department in Shaoxing, eastern China... Liu Xingchen, police chief of Kailu county in Inner Mongolia, said more than 12,000 of his county's 400,000 residents were on his payroll.

The Arctic Sea—a New Wild West? - "Global warming is set to bring the Arctic into play as a key strategic region for the US, China and Russia. Can a stable set of rules be crafted?"

A Bottomless Silo

Artw — Tue, 03 May 2011 00:18:57 -0800

The Rusty Technoporn Of Nuclear Russia - The Base Of Human Exterminators , The Place That Stalkers Would Love To Visit, from English Russia via Warren Ellis

Emotional Baggage

rageagainsttherobots — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 07:34:52 -0800

Short Film: The Secret Life of a Suitcase. [SL]

Plugging the Leaks

reenum — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:39:05 -0800

Shane Harris of the Washingtonian looks at the increasingly aggressive pursuit by the Obama administration of people (especially journalists) who leak sensitive information to the public.

Pigeon: Impossible

netbros — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:26:53 -0800

Pigeon: Impossible is the tale of Walter, a rookie secret agent faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.

Easter egg found on Good Friday

mattdidthat — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:48:49 -0800

Ever since Pat and Diane Farla moved into the detached Victorian building three years ago, they'd wondered what lay behind the metre-long rectangle which lay alongside a wall.

I Wanted to Believe

Chinese Jet Pilot — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:57:10 -0800

Declassified secrets about the top-secret U.S. military base Area 51 revealed: Great food, cash-stuffed briefcases, no UFOs.

Secret Supper. Shhh!

jontyjago — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:17:00 -0800

The owners of Casa Saltshaker in Buenos Aires have compiled a list of venues in what they refer to as the Underground Dining Scene. The Puerta Cerrada (Closed Door) restaurant is becoming more and more popular with travellers and locals alike. Offering a restaurant-like experience in a private home, and also known as Secret Supper Clubs, Salon Dinners or In-Home Restaurants, the idea has been around for years, but new ones are popping up all over the world as travellers seek more and more "local" experiences. Fancy setting one up in your house? Here's how to do it.

Forgotten Bookmarks

milquetoast — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:33:46 -0800

Forgotten Bookmarks. "I work at a used and rare bookstore, and I buy books from people every day. These are the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things I find in those books. "

Craig Murray Attends the Formal Evidence Session on UK Complicity in Torture

debord — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:57:05 -0800

Craig Murray (Previously: 1 2) Attends the Formal Evidence Session on UK Complicity in Torture on Tuesday 28 April 1.45pm UK time. You can (hopefully) watch it on Parliament TV. If you want to have a good look at UK / US complicity in torture, this might be a good place to start... Please note he has said "There is absolutely no way I am going to kill myself. Just thought it might be wise to get that out in public!". Hopefully statements like that won't be necessary.

ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen "High Value Detainees" in CIA Custody

y2karl — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:32:36 -0800

From the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen "High Value Detainees" in CIA Custody - This is the report in its entirety. [pdf]

From Mark Danner: US Torture: Voices from the Black Sites and The Red Cross Torture Report: What It Means

...It is the most damning and credible indictment of the American government to appear in years - more damning because it was prepared in the usual secrecy and not intended as a public document; more damning because it comes not from Jane Mayer or Mark Danner or Dana Priest or this blog, but from the most credible and respected human rights watchdog in the world: the International Committee for the Red Cross. It is broad, meticulous evidence of pre-meditated, illegal, and immoral war crimes that were then subject to cover-up and lies at the highest levels. It makes Nixon's crimes look petty. You no longer have any excuse to look away or move on. Either America deals with this or it does not. It is a test of character and integrity for the country and for the political elite. It is a test for the new president.
Andrew Sullivan, among many others...

Secret passages

boo_radley — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:51:29 -0800

Author Dennis Cooper discusses the secret passage in practical terms. With practical examples for the handyman and notable buildings featuring secret passages in the United States, such as Doug Carlston's Broderbund Manor.

Voices from the Black Sites

shoesfullofdust — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:38:59 -0800

Interrogation techniques used by the CIA on al-Qaeda suspects "constituted torture", according to a report by the International Red Cross.

Get yer urban exploration/dead mall fix right here

limeonaire — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:59:13 -0800

"Q: What the hell is this site about? This is a site about urban exploration in the Ozarks." Abandoned water slides, underground tunnels, abandoned buildings and half-demolished malls throughout Missouri were all once fair game for this blog, and remain fair game for those who post in Underground Ozarks' forums.

putative clandestine organizations

nickyskye — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:51:11 -0800

The International Institute of Social History was founded in 1935. It is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions in the field of social history. From their collections: Secret Societies: Documents and illustrations of Freemasons, Jesuits, Illuminati, Carbonari, Burschenschaften and other putative secret societies and clandestine organizations.

The Dyatlov Pass Mystery

Henry C. Mabuse — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:48:44 -0800

Nine experienced cross-country skiers hurriedly left their tent on a Urals slope in the middle of the night at around -30 degrees Celsius for no obvious reason, casting aside skis, food, boots and most of their clothes. Soon they would be dead, some with injuries more suited to car crash victims, and apparently dosed with radiation. Their deaths are still unexplained, 49 years later. The Mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Accident. Photos from the skiers' own cameras. Photo gallery (includes photos from cameras of victims, photos taken by searchers and others). Online version of the novella by Anna Matveieva

Secret Military Patches

Miko — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:30:29 -0800

I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to Be Destroyed by Me is a new book by author and interesting person Trevor Paglen. He collects patches designed by military personnel to commemorate secret "black-ops" projects.

Photos of the secret interiors of buildings.

hydrophonic — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:54:42 -0800

One Wall Away: Hidden Spaces. Jan Theun van Rees photographs secret spaces in Chicago landmarks to allow us to access to what we normally never get to see. My favorites: the old heating ducts for Unity Temple, and inside the Bean. He other series explore Amsterdam's disused theaters, galleries and museums and various personal looks at public spaces.

Postsecret strikes again

Phire — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 01:52:46 -0800

The ability of Postsecret to reach out and touch everyday lives has not waned with its increased popularity and reknown. "I feel the same way. I often wonder why I even have a phone because I rarely receive calls." Then he offered a metaphorical ear. "If there was a way we could contact each other, that would be cool. My phone number is 605-212-7787." Within the first couple of days, Paulson received 250 calls, so many that his voicemail told countless other callers that it could accept no more messages. He has talked to people in almost every state, along with calls from Colombia, Scotland, England and Australia. He's talked with soldiers stationed in Iraq. Paulson spoke for more than two hours with cousins conducting a conference call from North Carolina and Georgia. He spoke to a 45-year-old nontraditional student who shares his interest in art. He talked with a woman who had just put her children to bed. It seems that every where you go, Post Secret is getting media attention, to the extent that it almost seems like they're selling out, what with the youtube videos and the Book tour and everything. But at the end of the day, it's still about letting your vulnerable side show to maybe, just maybe, find a compassionate soul. And if the $75,000 they donated towards suicide prevention organizations is any indication, there is a lot of compassion to go around yet. Can we set aside the snark for a minute and say that Frank Warren is bloody brilliant? TYVM.

Hide your pot, porn, money, spare keys and jewellery.

Sully — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:35:43 -0800

How to make a secret hollow book.