MetaFilter

The FBI could have stopped 9/11. There was no need for a metadata-collection program. What was needed was cooperation with other federal agencies.
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 9:21 PM PST - 63 comments

Is the United States a ‘Racial Democracy’?
posted by anotherpanacea at 9:11 PM PST - 40 comments

The Cult of the Peacock. It’s easy to forget that at one time all videogames had manuals. I used to like reading manuals. Manuals were cool. Now, instead of manuals, we have interactive tutorials. They take about fifty times longer to produce, three times longer to consume, and players hate them so much that their highest aspiration is to become completely transparent. Currently I spend most of my waking hours developing them. It should come as no surprise that I hate them too.
posted by Sebmojo at 8:19 PM PST - 48 comments

The return of "patrimonial capitalism": review of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st century (pdf) - "Thomas Piketty's 'Capital in the 21st century' may be one of the most important recent economics books. It jointly treats theory of growth, functional distribution of income, and interpersonal income inequality. It envisages a future of relatively slow growth with the rising share of capital incomes, and widening income inequality. This tendency could be checked only by worldwide taxation of capital." [more inside]
posted by kliuless at 8:11 PM PST - 39 comments

Here she discovered photographs of several of the absent illuminations, a partial ownership history, and a surprising fact: Christie’s had listed the book as “APPARENTLY COMPLETE.” In other words, the devotional had been taken apart—“broken” is the industry term—not a hundred years ago, but within the last three years. Its leaves had been stripped for individual sale by a modern-day dealer. “I was almost physically sick,” Treharne told me. “I could not believe what I had in front of me.”
posted by PussKillian at 6:29 PM PST - 67 comments

Junk Head 1 - Start with the stop motion animation look of an old Tool video, add in a bit of that Jeunet/Caro style humanity and humor, weave in some Cronenberg-like WTF creatures, and wrap the whole thing in an interesting story, and you have yourself a very cool short from Yamiken Hori.
posted by chambers at 5:33 PM PST - 8 comments

Discard Studies "is meant as an online gathering place for scholars, activists, environmentalists, students, artists, planners, and anyone else whose work touches on themes relevant to the study of waste and wasting." It's about hoarding discourse. Migrants' material trails. The stewardship of repair. Flood level markers. And so much more, thanks to the trashiest anthropologist in New York. [more inside]
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:28 PM PST - 7 comments

Many people have wondered about Metafilter over the years. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Metafilter had human body parts? Wonder no longer. NSFW Metafilter's anus: The Elite Restless Labyrinth. [more inside]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 3:27 PM PST - 66 comments

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Soviet Sniper
"Lyudmila Pavlichenko was a Soviet sniper credited with 309 kills—and an advocate for women's rights. On a U.S. tour in 1942, she found a friend in the first lady." [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:11 PM PST - 31 comments

The founder of the Tumblr Critique My Dick Pic (previously on Metafilter) talks about what she has learned.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:17 PM PST - 111 comments

The Saxophone Sisters, Lavanya and Subbalakshmi's musical repertoire includes Carnatic music, Hindustani, Western classical, Hindi, Tamil movie songs and jazz. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 12:07 PM PST - 4 comments

Frank Sidebottom: the true story of the man behind the mask
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:44 AM PST - 38 comments

...a fish grabs one of the famously speedy birds straight out of the air.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 8:09 AM PST - 34 comments

Salvador Dalí Illustrates the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, in stunning and colorful detail. [more inside]
posted by chainsofreedom at 7:20 AM PST - 12 comments

On Wednesday, after retiring in September, former Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger announced he is gay in an interview with Die Zeit (excerpt, de) and a statement (PDF, en) on his website, followed by an interview with the Guardian. He discussed the decision and the aftermath of the announcement with Gary Lineker on Football Focus (1:00-4:15). [more inside]
posted by hoyland at 6:52 AM PST - 16 comments

You might not know me, but I’m famous. Don’t feel bad. Until recently, I didn’t know I was famous either, and most days, even now, it’s hard to tell.
posted by graventy at 6:22 AM PST - 65 comments

Inside Monopoly's secret war against the Third Reich The story of how Clayton Hutton came to use Monopoly to try and help POW escape during WWII.
posted by Apoch at 4:42 AM PST - 19 comments

A Sea Story: One of the worst maritime disasters in European history [....]
Another gripping account by William Langewiesche. (Previously: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:04 AM PST - 24 comments

Watch as an adorable toddler meets her father's twin.
posted by pjern at 12:29 AM PST - 37 comments