He was elected at the nadir of the worst depression in history; 25% of the workforce was unemployed, two million were homeless. Yet in the face of this, he made us an optimistic and far-reaching New Deal, creating among other programs a federal minimum wage, social security, and the FDIC. He pulled us out of dire financial straits and, when our country was called upon to fight in World War II, he brought us to the cusp of victory. In his unprecedented thirteen years in office, he cemented his undisputed legacy as one of the greatest presidents in American history. But before he could achieve any of this, Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a promise to keep — a promise to the "wet vote," whose indispensable support he had called upon in 1932 during his first presidential campaign when he promised to repeal the 18th Amendment and end Prohibition. And thus, as legend has it, immediately after his first fireside chat from the White House in March 1933, Roosevelt turned to his two top aides and said, "I think it's time for a beer." And yes, indeed, it was.
Of course, legalizing beer was only the beginning. As Roosevelt was a man of his word, it quickly came to pass that on this very date, December 5th, in 1933, Congress ratified the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, ended Prohibition, and our patron saint FDR made the toast heard 'round the world: "What America needs now," he said, "is a drink."
Today, on the 77th anniversary of that momentous event, let us all raise a glass to that wise and forward-looking man, whose decision ultimately did more than just create 500,000 new jobs: "You saved the very foundation of our Government. No man can tell where we would have gone, or to what we would have fallen, had not this repeal been brought about." [more inside]
posted by churl on Dec 5, 2009 - 7 comments

My drive to work in the rainstorm 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [more inside]
posted by defenestration on Dec 4, 2009 - 29 comments

Fifth Gear Loop the Loop. (SLYT, in the interest of science) prev 5th gear
posted by allkindsoftime on Nov 28, 2009 - 40 comments

The 27 Best (Non-Super Bowl) Commercials of the 2000s: Balls [Bravia] - Birthday [Got Milk?] - Bubble Boy [Volkswagen] - Bus Station [Starburst] - Carousel [Phillips] - Cog [Honda] - Dangerously Low [Levi's] - Diorama [Halo 3] - Evolution [Dove] - Freestyle [Nike] - Gorilla [Cadbury] - Grrr [Honda] - Hello Tomorrow [Adidas] - Lamp [IKEA] - Like [Volkswagen] - Mountain [Playstation] - Noitulove [Guinness] - Odyssey [Levi's] - Rabbit [Comcast] - Sheet Metal [Saturn] - Stork [Monster] - Swear Jar [Bud Light] - Tag [Nike] - Tea Partay [Smirnoff] - Touch [Skittles] - Wedding Toast [Budweiser] - Yes We Can [Dipdive]. Part of Adweek's "Best of the 2000s" competition, which also includes rundowns of the 22 Best Super Bowl Spots and the 15 Best Print Campaigns of the last decade, among many other voting categories.
posted by Rhaomi on Nov 23, 2009 - 72 comments

Internet Vices: various Web 2.0 sites and services, recast as drugs and alcohol. [more inside]
posted by ShawnStruck on Nov 20, 2009 - 29 comments

The Wire - 100 Greatest Quotes (SLYT) (NSFW)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 19, 2009 - 101 comments

You can see that things gradually become more terrifying : Five of the six alkali metals and their reactions to air and water. Learn more at the Periodic Table Of Videos. Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, Cesium (Caesium), and the elusive Francium.
posted by The Whelk on Nov 18, 2009 - 29 comments

Total Recall - All The Deaths (Including Johnny Cab) (SLYT)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 17, 2009 - 129 comments

It's an awesome feeling.
posted by SinisterPurpose on Nov 16, 2009 - 36 comments

Thousands of people who play setar in Iran are against me,” he said. “They say why add two more strings to the instrument? But I don’t get upset with them.

Hafez Nazeri, son of renown Persian singer Shahram Nazeri, is an Iranian setar player and composer. Tomorrow night, he will be the first Iranian composer to headline a concert at Carnegie Hall. The concert will feature a new instrument invented by Nazeri: the Hafez. [more inside]
posted by Lutoslawski on Nov 13, 2009 - 5 comments

Fans of Dr. Horrible take note: there is a prequel. And it's fan-made. And it's good. Really really good. YouTube (ten segments) and higher-quality Vimeo available for your viewing pleasure.
posted by hippybear on Nov 13, 2009 - 18 comments

Demand Media (not to be confused with Media-On-Demand) is a success story in the "on-line content" business creating 4000 text or video pieces a day with an assembly-line formula that includes an automated editorial algorithm and an army of lowly-paid freelancers (but, hey, they're starting to offer health benefits!). Their own sites include the mind-numbingly practical eHow (and eHowUK for the non-US-centric), the .com affiliate of Lance Armstrong's Livestrong and the infamous (at MeFi) Cracked.com (link goes to parody of parody). They're syndicating content through their own domain registrar eNom (better than 'parked pages', right?), and one other thing: Demand is the #1 content provider to YouTube (and YouTube is their #1 revenue provider). All this from a CEO/mastermind best known as 'the guy who sold MySpace to NewsCorp'.
posted by oneswellfoop on Nov 12, 2009 - 80 comments

Birds are a liquid. One video. One minute. 300,000 starlings. (via)
posted by maudlin on Nov 12, 2009 - 51 comments

two youtube videos and a motherfucking crossfader
posted by boo_radley on Nov 10, 2009 - 80 comments

Music video for Snake featuring giant stompy robots invading Uruguay. Short film sans band. Behind the scenes.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 10, 2009 - 13 comments

The Open Road London pioneering colour footage from 1927 (SLYT)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 9, 2009 - 15 comments

cosmolearning has a ton of college courses and documentaries aggregated in one place. And it was started by a couple of teenagers. I'm impressed.
posted by pahool on Nov 7, 2009 - 8 comments

This YouTube video seems to break my browser. Does it play alright for anyone else?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 6, 2009 - 45 comments

Ad agencies often have bizarre, unorthodox websites. But how about an agency that moves its entire website over to YouTube?
posted by Vhanudux on Nov 6, 2009 - 27 comments

In Saint's Row 2 (a GTA-ish game for the PC and current-gen consoles), your character sings along whenever a-ha's song "Take on Me" plays on the radio. Here's all six player voices edited together to sing along at the same time. [SLYT] [more inside]
posted by CrunchyFrog on Nov 5, 2009 - 56 comments

A lecture from Professor Amy Hungerford on Cormac Mccarthy's Blood Meridian. Part one and two. [more inside]
posted by nola on Nov 1, 2009 - 41 comments

What do Avril Lavigne, Newton Faulkner, Violent Femmes, Richard Cheese and The Chipmunks have in common? They have all recorded covers of the SpongeBob SquarePants opening theme. [more inside]
posted by Mitheral on Oct 29, 2009 - 44 comments

Looks like The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers have been slated to star in their own stop-motion animated movie, Grass Roots: The Movie, produced by bolexbrothers! Here, the Freaks' creator, Gilbert Shelton, talks about the movie. In true stoner fashion, though, it's been "in production" since 2006, but you can watch a teaser here. While you're waiting for the movie to be made, here's the youtubed version of bolexbrothers award-winning stop-motion feature length film, The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
posted by not_on_display on Oct 27, 2009 - 34 comments

A chance meeting between Kevin Pollak and Jason Calacanis at a poker game gave birth to Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, a weekly, web-based interview program. Episode 29, with guest Weird Al Yankovic, will be streaming live at 8PM ET/5PM PT. While you're waiting, check out previous episodes with guests like Eddie Izzard, Hank Azaria, and John Hamm. Or try your hand at the Larry King Game.
posted by Horace Rumpole on Oct 25, 2009 - 25 comments

Hey Paisanos! It's the Super Mario Brother's Super Show! Hosted by Captain Lou Albano ( previously ) as Mario and Danny Wells as Lugi, the show boasted an unusual list of guest stars including Elvira, Magic Johnson, Erine Hudson, Moon Zappa, Regina Williams (with Capt. Lou in drag) , and in a meta-twist, Cyndi Lauper trying to find Captain Lou himself. [more inside]
posted by The Whelk on Oct 24, 2009 - 32 comments

Synesthesia. (SLYT, 4 minutes.)
posted by The Deej on Oct 20, 2009 - 6 comments

X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 30 Seconds. (SLYT)
posted by Astro Zombie on Oct 18, 2009 - 52 comments

87 Cool Things
posted by mattoxic on Oct 17, 2009 - 23 comments

A bunch of people, sort of running, in slow motion
posted by Toekneesan on Oct 16, 2009 - 33 comments

Experiencing the pain of labor...when you're male[slyt]
posted by gaspode on Oct 13, 2009 - 153 comments

"Long thought to be lost or destroyed, this complete recording of one of the few hour long interviews of Alfred Hitchcock has been found." [more inside]
posted by dhammond on Oct 12, 2009 - 17 comments

In this corner, Norazo from Korea, singing about Superman, risking one's life, and that wonderful fish the mackerel (sung in an actual fish market). And in the other, DJ Ozma from Japan, singing about Spiderman, drinking, and Age Age Every Night (videos may be NSFW). [more inside]
posted by needled on Oct 10, 2009 - 10 comments

1,000,000FPS video of bullet impacts. Stay tuned for the glass, ballistics gel, and bullets impacting each other in the air. [more inside]
posted by Rinku on Oct 8, 2009 - 53 comments

Uncle Grandpa!
posted by BuddhaInABucket on Oct 5, 2009 - 49 comments

'The Golden Age of Video' by Ricardo Autobahn (SLYT)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Oct 5, 2009 - 18 comments

Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, the legendarily awful 3DO game, is now fully playable on YouTube. It is a (barely) "Interactive Romantic Comedy," whose main selling point is its "17+" rating for innuendo, language, and censored nudity. (Walkthrough inside) [more inside]
posted by CrunchyFrog on Oct 4, 2009 - 29 comments

On September 10th, to celebrate their initiation week, 172 communications students at the University of Quebec at Montreal decided to put on a show. After weeks of preparation, the costumed and prop-wielding crowd enacted an exuberant, complex, and flawlessly-choreographed performance of the Black Eyed Peas song "I Gotta Feeling" that sprawled through the campus's multi-story Judith Jasmin Pavilion... and they did it all in one continuous take (on their second try). The feat is just the most recent example of "lipdubbing" -- a video phenomenon where a single camera moves through a crowd of highly coordinated lip-syncers in a single seamless take, with the original recording dubbed over the finished product. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Oct 1, 2009 - 83 comments

Even if you don't know Joe Raposo's name, you probably have heard his music. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, Joe was the main composer of songs and incidental music for the children's television shows Sesame Street and The Electric Company. In this role, he wrote some of today's standards while also imprinting his musical stylings on the consciousness of a generation of children worldwide. In the second half of this post, you will find a curation of youtube-links leading to a good chunk of Joe Raposo's oeuvre -- all gems, mostly under two minutes each. Sing along if you know the words! [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Sep 30, 2009 - 43 comments

Women of the world! Russ Lindquist, also known as russfloyd (Multi-Link Youtubery ahead), wants you to 'Know your Enemy'. [more inside]
posted by eatyourcellphone on Sep 26, 2009 - 19 comments

Single Ladies — Pomplamoose (A Beyoncé Cover) [previously]
posted by nfg on Sep 25, 2009 - 77 comments

"When you're stupid, there's nothing that can be done." ... as we all know, YouTube is famed for having the worst comments on the internet. In this SLYT, Eric Idle responds to some of them.
posted by memebake on Sep 24, 2009 - 49 comments

Comedian Affion Crockett, most remembered for appearing on MTV's "Wild 'n Out"and for his impressions of Jay-Z, manages to play Jay, Kanye and Chris Brown in a spoof of Jay-Z's song with Rihanna, "Run This Town".
posted by cashman on Sep 22, 2009 - 15 comments

Rammstein's Pussy (video, really NSFW, SLnYT) gets right to the point. Youtube has taken down uploads. Facebook has taken down links (though not Links). Here's a fan-created censored version (NSFW lyrics). [more inside]
posted by zippy on Sep 19, 2009 - 171 comments

Korean girl groups dominated the Korean music charts this summer - Brown Eyed Girls cast a spell with Abracadabra, Girls' Generation is your Genie, 2NE1 is on Fire, 4Minute turn up the Muzik, T-ara Lies. [more inside]
posted by needled on Sep 18, 2009 - 31 comments

Andy Richter destroys Wolf Blitzer in Celebrity Jeopardy (twice, if you count the rehearsal show). Of course, Richter is no stranger to the game.
posted by Rhaomi on Sep 17, 2009 - 78 comments

Traction Man is writing about the food he receives in an NHS hospital bed in England. He's got a Downfall tribute video too.
posted by debord on Sep 17, 2009 - 34 comments

Classic 80s hits interpreted for ragtime piano. (SLYT)
posted by FfejL on Sep 16, 2009 - 30 comments

British composer and TV presenter Howard Goodall presents a documentary exploring the influences and theory behind the music of The Beatles, and the transformation of their sound over their recording career. Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 on Youtube. But that's not all... [more inside]
posted by Magnakai on Sep 9, 2009 - 30 comments

"The One is a lie. Every long term relationship is a myth, and myths are built of lies. What's beautiful about a long term relationship is that I pretend that my boyfriend is the lie I met, when I first met him, and he does the same favor to me. You become The One because someone is willing to pretend you are." Dan Savage on The Price of Admission [SLYT]. [more inside]
posted by PercussivePaul on Sep 9, 2009 - 144 comments

Woody the cat freshens up and has a sip while jazz is playing. [slyt]
posted by nickyskye on Sep 9, 2009 - 64 comments