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Two German kids attempt to head to Africa and elope, bringing one's sister with them. They're five and six.
posted by divabat at 11:43 PM PST - 58 comments

A collection of sketches drawn on an iPhone using only fingers, by Stef Kardos, an art director for Disney. Rough, jewel-bright, entrancing, could induce further desire for an iPhone.
posted by po at 11:34 PM PST - 34 comments

How to blog, or counter-blog, for the US Air force, in handy flow chart form.
posted by Artw at 10:44 PM PST - 40 comments

The computer generated first-down line in American football is something we take for granted these days. However, the logistics required to make this work is pretty complex. At the very least, have you considered this: if it's computer generated on a moving image, how do they draw it under the people running around on the field, and not over them? And it gets a bit more complicated than this. "Here are some of the problems that have to be solved in order for this system to work: [more inside]
posted by SpacemanStix at 9:50 PM PST - 52 comments

Florian Schneider quits Kraftwerk. Posted here on 21 November but just making the news rounds now. Andy Gill remembers the Lennon and McCartney of Electropop. 39 years ago, it started like this.
posted by grounded at 9:26 PM PST - 50 comments

Tomas Schneider makes sculptures using basically ceramic, fur, mixed media, acrylic, wood and light.
posted by Sailormom at 9:17 PM PST - 1 comments

Large Commuter Collider The Ōhashi Junction is rad.

Looking for all intents and purposes like a modern-day Coliseum, the Ōhashi Junction will be about the same size as the National Olympic Stadium when complete. It's really a marvel of modern engineering, and for those lucky enough to be in Tokyo, you can actually go walking through it for a limited time.

I don't know why people don't fetishize junctions more.

(I apologize for all the Japanese, just jump to the photos)
posted by odasaku at 9:17 PM PST - 16 comments

Virtually all the predictions about the death of old media have assumed a comfortingly long time frame for the end of print—the moment when, amid a panoply of flashing lights, press conferences, and elegiac reminiscences, the newspaper presses stop rolling and news goes entirely digital. Most of these scenarios assume a gradual crossing-over, almost like the migration of dunes, as behaviors change, paradigms shift, and the digital future heaves fully into view. But what if the old media dies much more quickly? What if a hurricane comes along and obliterates the dunes entirely? Specifically, what if The New York Times goes out of business—like, this May? [more inside]
posted by netbros at 9:11 PM PST - 62 comments

You know the trouble with Historically-Based Movies? Unless you're an uneducated, ignorant moran, you know how they're gonna end. At least that's the argument of this Premiere article on 10 Movie Endings Spoiled By History. Of course there are ways to avoid that problem, as Cracked.com's (yeah, them) 11 Movies Saved by Historical Inaccuracy declares. Books have been written about Historical Movies' accuracy or inaccuracy, and everybody has an opinion on what the Best Historical Movies are, but if you want your History purely entertaining, there's only one mandog you can count on: here are Mr. Peabody, Sherman and the original Wayback Machine dropping in on Cristopher Columbus, Pancho Villa and Francisco Pizarro and the Incas (sorry, no USA History episodes on YouTube). [more inside]
posted by wendell at 7:44 PM PST - 36 comments

A lot of people have nightmares about showing up to school or work naked. But hey, how about this one? Brrrrrrrrr. (nsfw)
posted by miss lynnster at 6:30 PM PST - 77 comments

The Great Chinese Art Revolution is a documentary exploring how Chinese art has become a sought-after commodity on the international market. Suppressed and co-opted by Mao, art in China was, for a long time, a subversive expression of discontent, starting with the Star(s) Group in 1979 and continuing with the "cynical realism" of the exiled artists of the 90s. [more inside]
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:59 PM PST - 5 comments

What if Akon (the rapper) was from the Middle East? How about 50 Cent? Maybe Britney, The Pussycat Dolls or Shakira?
posted by Hands of Manos at 5:22 PM PST - 28 comments

Who would have known that that the death of DRM would come in the form of a press release? While MP3 stores are nothing new, with iTunes moving to a 100% DRM free catalog by the 31st of March this now cements a de facto standard of DRM free music in the marketplace. As a side effect it's now a near certainty that AAC will become the successor of MP3.
posted by Talez at 4:15 PM PST - 135 comments

Photographer Jeffrey Silverthorne takes beautiful, quiet photos of disquieting subject matter. His early works included two series on morgues and transvestites. [nsfw, via]
posted by grapefruitmoon at 3:40 PM PST - 14 comments

We had a discussion a couple months ago about VW stock. Betting against VW cost Adolf Merckle hundreds of millions of dollars last year and eventually destroyed his business empire. Yesterday, it cost him his life.
posted by joaquim at 3:20 PM PST - 64 comments

History of the Internet is an animated documentary explaining the inventions from time-sharing to filesharing, from Arpanet to Internet.
posted by Surfin' Bird at 3:07 PM PST - 17 comments

Deep in the Heart of Jersey you'll find "Uncle Floyd" Vivino, roaming the streets of various towns and cities, kibbitzing with the locals. In Belleville. Nutley. Bloomfield Avenue and Ferry Street in Newark. Kearny. Cliffside Park. Main Street, Paterson. An abandoned lot in Paterson. What, you never heard of Uncle Floyd? [more inside]
posted by not_on_display at 2:01 PM PST - 47 comments

"Great Chefs is the oldest cooking/travel series on television and cable, and among the largest. The programs are seen around the world, and now they're available to you here." 80 videos, 3 chefs/recipes per episode. Ballottine of Sole Sauce Emeraude -- Chef Andre Soltner, Lutece l Corn Flan w/Smoked Salmon -- Chef David Burke, Park Avenue Cafe l Sweet and Sour Quail Peruvian Style -- Chef Stan Frankenthaler, East Coast Grill. (recipes from the entire series available for pdf download here)
posted by vronsky at 2:00 PM PST - 14 comments

Ron Asheton, influential guitarist and bassist for The Stooges and Destroy All Monsters, has passed away at age 60.
posted by Dr-Baa at 11:17 AM PST - 58 comments

Palestinian girl, Israeli soldier. It made me remember 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests.
posted by shetterly at 11:13 AM PST - 453 comments

In 1996 a man known only as "Bugs" rocked the cryptozoology world with the claim that during the 1970s he was part of a hunting party in the Texas panhandle that shot, killed & buried two adult Bigfoots. Bugs turned over a copy of his map to radio talk show host Art Bell & was never heard from again, despite pleas to step forward from prominent members of the Bigfoot community. All that changed a few days ago when somebody recognized Bugs's voice while listening to political muckraker Ed Hale's Internet radio show. Ed's current cause is uncovering documentary evidence that President-Elect Barack Obama is not a "natural born citizen" and therefore is ineligible for office. Currently Ed claims to be in possession of Obama's parents' divorce decree. Although Ed has not made an official comment on the matter, a commenter claiming to be Ed has posted a short defense that admits he was the infamous "Bugs". (via)
posted by scalefree at 10:03 AM PST - 100 comments

A nice photogallery, with descriptions, illustrating the progress of Moore's Law from a 1958 single-transistor Texas Instruments integrated circuit to the anticipated 2009 AMD Phenom II, with 758,000,000 transistors.
posted by beagle at 9:15 AM PST - 16 comments

A NEW FACEBOOK CONTROVERSY A NEW FACEBOOK CONTROVERSY has developed, this time over photos of women breastfeeding their babies. But Facebook is standing firm.. The protesters have also formed a Facebook group, of course, Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding Is Not Obscene. It's not the first controversy at the social networking site and this blog documents activities, rumors and news about Facebook. [more inside]
posted by etaoin at 9:06 AM PST - 241 comments

Each December, the United States National Film Preservation Board chooses up to 25 films they deem worthy of taking special action to preserve in the Library of Congress. It’s a new year, and that means 25 more films are welcomed in the vault of the National Film Registry. Three of the 2008 picks can be viewed on Internet Archive as well as nearly 40 picks from years past.
posted by stbalbach at 7:46 AM PST - 57 comments

I like old bicycles. High-wheelers, choppers, BMX bikes, mountain bikes and old ten-speeds. Especially personal bikes from personal collections. I like 'em all. Also Queen videos. (Previously.)
posted by box at 7:36 AM PST - 20 comments

If you've ever enjoyed Steve Reich's Different Trains, John Adams' Nixon in China or Harry Partch's The Bewitched, you probably have Betty Freeman to thank. Freeman supported the works of such composers as Philip Glass, John Cage and Witold Lutoslawski (and many, many more), often early in their careers. She was a photographer herself, and the subject of David Hockney's Beverly Hills Housewife. Freeman passed away at age 87.
posted by NemesisVex at 7:01 AM PST - 10 comments

A Guardian interview with Lynndie England (of Abu Ghraib notoriety).
posted by nthdegx at 6:26 AM PST - 111 comments

A new trojan is on the loose. It doesn't install any harmful adware/spyware, but does block both mininova and the Pirate Bay.
posted by azarbayejani at 6:06 AM PST - 26 comments

The historic inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama is two weeks away, and vendors are making a mint selling memorabilia. But be warned: the commemorative coins you see being advertised are not official. A relatively new $1 coin series does feature US presidents in chronological order (previously), but getting Americans to use $1 coins hasn't been easy. Remember Susan B. Anthony, Columbus and Sacagawea? Native American $1 coins will be offered in tandem with the presidential series; if they continue to be issued, Obama's official $1 coin should be available in 2017.
posted by woodway at 6:04 AM PST - 50 comments

Is the death of Livejournal immanent? After being bought by a company in Russia just over a year ago, Livejournal may be on the rocks. They've just announced big , big layoff of tech folks at Livejournal. allegedly with no severance for or warning to the employees. [more inside]
posted by rmd1023 at 5:50 AM PST - 64 comments

Cats and noodles - what's not to like? Neko Rahmen has both, featuring Taishou, a cat who runs a ramen shop. Neko Rahmen was originally a comic strip, then a series of short animes (English-subtitled 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13), and now there's a live-action movie, featuring a cameo by a famous cat.
posted by needled at 5:38 AM PST - 3 comments

After a year of research spanning four continents and interviews with dozens of people across the internet, Dancing Ink Productions will release their findings from the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project on Thursday, January 29.
posted by gman at 3:28 AM PST - 2 comments

The Top 50 Movie Special Effects Shots.
posted by theroadahead at 3:15 AM PST - 68 comments