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AmbientPlayer v5.0 Very cool. (via Blogdex)
posted by justlooking at 11:46 PM PST - 2 comments

Propaganda analysis: A very interesting page on how to recognize and avoid emotionally-charged propaganda and political rhetoric. A broader question would be, how do you go about analyzing competing truth-claims made by environmentalists and anti-environmentalists, pro- and anti-gun control activists, Moonies, socialists, libertarians and capitalists? Are there any hard and fast rules you use to choose who and what to believe in a world of name calling and information glut?
posted by hanseugene at 11:44 PM PST - 5 comments

Devil's Pretzel (in my mouth)
to the tune of Beck's 'Devil's Haircut'
Something's wrong 'cause my windpipe's closing
chest feels like it's near exploding
earphoned bully boys walking other places
Spot & Barney staring, Nipperesque faces
...a song by Jim Higgins on G.W."s almost self-assassination.
posted by riley370 at 8:20 PM PST - 4 comments

Here's a story, of a man named Brady......who's no longer allowed on the Brady Bunch merchandise! I noticed that his likeness was cut out of the Brady Bunch 2002 calendar. The Wash Post has an interesting article on the whole situation.
posted by sassone at 8:14 PM PST - 26 comments

Fantasy Space...a laughable pseudointellectual discussion of an old, weird movie I first saw in high school when HBO was still Home Box Office.
posted by Slagman at 6:07 PM PST - 9 comments

World's Scariest Satanists. Self described German satanist-vampires kill a person, various animals to fulfill their blood-lust. I don't think there's a political answer to this sort of bizarre behavior, but at least in America they would face the death penalty.
posted by insomnyuk at 5:38 PM PST - 39 comments

I've been known to chastise my self publicly for doing stupid things, After reading about this cop's misadventure, I suddenly dont feel stupid anymore.
posted by jonmc at 5:13 PM PST - 18 comments

One-man news org busts open local pension scam! Bruce Murphy's Milwaukee World website uncovered a story about improprieties in the county pension fund on October 10th of last year while the traditional outlets dawdled until January of this year. Kind of neat to know that all the solo journalism isn't all Matt Drudge "advances" from old media. (via medianews)
posted by owillis at 5:12 PM PST - 5 comments

Let Slip the Blogs of War For a while I didn't think I was gonna make it, but around 1800 hours I laid down a barrage of trenchant observations and we finally broke through...star studded article by tim cavanaugh.
posted by th3ph17 at 3:46 PM PST - 22 comments

NDb -(60% x Nc/Nt +40% x Dc/Dt) x 17,585
"Mathematicians called in by the Metropolitan Police think they have worked out the best way to beat crime in the capital."
Are there any UK mathematician/cops out there that know what the variables actually are?
posted by badstone at 3:28 PM PST - 8 comments

4 dead, at least 30 hurt in terror attack on Hadera banquet hall. We're so damn sick of it, will the violence ever stop ??
posted by martz at 2:31 PM PST - 44 comments

Oh how the mighty have fallen. He went from this to this. There's nothing like watching the "downward spiral" segment of an E! True Hollyword Story unfold before your very eyes. Any other favorite falls from grace?
posted by lawtalkinguy at 2:23 PM PST - 77 comments

Who could build the MeFi mascot? Mascots Interntational, silly! (via my friend Leslie) Imagine "Pancake Bunny" entertaining your kids during the International MeFi Convention in glitzy Las Vegas. If MI could make "Freddy Combine," "Mr. Crab," "Ripster" and "Mazola Bottle," they apparently could make anything.
posted by schmedeman at 1:26 PM PST - 16 comments

Saga the bear has her own webcam. "The web camera is located inside one of the winter dens in the Bear Park Grönklitt, where the female bear Saga hibernates. At the time, when she started hibernating she was already pregnant. Now, we are curious how many cubs she will have given birth to."
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:10 PM PST - 6 comments

A new Darwin Award Winner? The county passed an ordinance to stop the proliferation of exotic pets. This guy should have taken the hint.
posted by plaino at 12:50 PM PST - 9 comments

Cure for Cancer in 10 Years? Anyone else see West Wing last night? Apparently, drugs called signal transduction inhibitors (STIs) - such as phenoxodiol, the drug referred to by Pres. Bartlet - are a reality, and early studies have shown their effectiveness in striking cancer's Achilles heel. Furthermore, in the Law and Order episode which followed, Gleevec was mentioned as the key to curing a type of leukemia, which is in fact a remarkably potent STI recently FDA-approved. Perhaps Aaron Sorkin isn't spinning a fantasy tale as I initially thought -- any oncologists in the house? [If Newsgurus doesn't let you in, try Google's cache.]
posted by padjet1 at 12:39 PM PST - 27 comments

I'm going to miss 'Cats'. This writer isn't though.
posted by feelinglistless at 11:50 AM PST - 12 comments

Bush approval ratings in low 80's; "disapproves" rising. Is the growing Enron debacle catching up with George W.? The president's job approval ratings, once above 90%, are now threatening to fall below 80%, while his disapproves are at their highest since 9/11.

By any measure, his numbers are still good--but they do seem to be heading south. Is this temporary? Or is it the anticipated post-attack "correction," as Franzen might say?
posted by busbyism at 10:56 AM PST - 32 comments

Olympics ban skate 'porn' I was so looking forward to the Olympics, and they had to do this. ;-( (link courtesy of Daily Rotten)
posted by a3matrix at 10:51 AM PST - 48 comments

Exploding Silicon Laptop thieves beware! We can now make your ill-gotten loot explode on command...
posted by Irontom at 10:38 AM PST - 8 comments

More consolidation in book publishing. Today Publishers Group West was bought by Advanced Marketing. PGW was the largest distributor of indy publishers in the US. They've distributed everything from pot-growing manuals to Dennis Cooper. If, in months to come, you see even less risk at your local superstore, don't be suprised.
posted by Bootcut at 9:47 AM PST - 2 comments

Carriers Aim to Kill Number Portability - Large cell phone carriers are trying to squash a requirement that they allow consumers to switch services and still keep their same phone number. This would allow them to continue providing low levels of customer service, coverage, and quality.
posted by jeblis at 8:54 AM PST - 23 comments

What's wrong with a puppy or a kitty or a fluffy bunny? A concerned relative called police to check on a Delaware man after the man failed to report to work, and police checking his apartment discovered the man's pet monitor lizards feeding on his remains.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:40 AM PST - 43 comments

Porn and pizza keep inmates happy over New Year's. Typically New Year's Eve is a somewhat rowdy event at this prison with inmates starting fires and refusing to go back to their cells. So this year, some employees struck a deal with the inmates to show porn and have pizza at New Year's provided they don't cause any trouble.

Now that word has got out to higher authorities and an investigation is in place. And heads will roll...
posted by PWA_BadBoy at 8:39 AM PST - 23 comments

fate of detainees hangs on U.S. wording Articoe discusses why the U.S. refuses to call prisoners sent to Cuba POWs instead of detainees...what a difference a word makes.
posted by Postroad at 8:38 AM PST - 6 comments

Jerry Bruckheimer Presents: Sept. 11, the movie He's done Pearl Harbor, which I guess makes this a natural next step. But will he wait until the earth cools at Ground Zero? And who'll play Osama? (Link via Dark Horizons)
posted by krewson at 8:37 AM PST - 4 comments

man protests prison construction by burying buses This is one of the more original methods of protest I've seen. The "artist", an excavator by trade who is trying to protest what he sees as an unlawful zoning change that will lower the value of his property, says his inspiration came from Cadillac Ranch. Will his protest be successful? Do you think this was an appropriate way to catch the attention of the local authorities? I, for one, think this was clever.
posted by purplecow at 8:15 AM PST - 10 comments

pretentious, self-indulgent, craftless tat. Modern art is rubbish says Institute of Contemporary Arts Chief Ivan Massow...
posted by Spoon at 7:49 AM PST - 28 comments

David Duchovny why won't you love me? "The X-Files," the Emmy-winning sci-fi drama that thrust two federal agents into spooky paranormal situations, will end its nine-season run on the Fox television network in May. It is still uncertain whether Duchovny, who is no longer involved with the show, will make an appearance in the finale.
posted by ry at 7:43 AM PST - 30 comments

Do you have a 'Super Cookie' ??? Another m$ screw-up... Very interesting since wmp just minutes before tried to access the net through my firewall that is set to block all except a few programs. If you're running mozilla his demo doesn't hit but using msie it sures pulls up the ID# of my wmp... time to tighten things down again!!! Another blasted waste of time to fix what m$ should not have let out in the first place!!! Link via... Inflight Correction
posted by tilt at 6:52 AM PST - 13 comments

The DJ's on your local radio station may not be live 24/7, but are they even local? Turn on WRZX-FM (103.3) from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. weeknights and you might hear a new disc jockey, who calls himself Fletch. From listening to him, you'd guess Fletch was sitting behind the control board at 6161 Fall Creek Road, where WRZX is located. You'd be mistaken. The truth is, Fletch is in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he does a 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. show as well as the night shift here for X103 and in Dallas at KEGL-FM -- all owned by Clear Channel Communications.
posted by internal at 6:33 AM PST - 30 comments

Norfolk Island wants to ban anyone with HIV or hepatitis from visiting or living on the island. I can't see how they can get away with this.
posted by spinifex at 5:38 AM PST - 14 comments

General Zod is now doing battle with the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. And he's taking the band Devo down with it. Whip it good, Snoopy!
posted by kingmissile at 5:29 AM PST - 11 comments

black hawk down easy to glamourise a war isn't it, however the story behind the media hype/historical distortions is also in need of highlighting
posted by johnnyboy at 5:22 AM PST - 10 comments

Happiness has zip to do with money. Anyone heard of Geoffrey Miller? He has v. interesting things to say about the relationship between human nature, money and power. Here, he has another take on global anti-Americanism.
posted by theplayethic at 5:19 AM PST - 21 comments

Microsoft to make products more "trustworthy." A lot of buzz words floating around here, like "trustworthy" and "security." Does this mark a true sea change in Microsoft strategy, or is it just a PR stunt, too little, too late? One thing I'll say, though - I never thought I'd hear this coming from Bill: "Users should be in control of how their data is used... It should be easy for users to specify appropriate use of their information, including controlling the use of e-mail they send." (from the AP report)
posted by topolino at 4:27 AM PST - 14 comments

Bin Ladin, the fashion label. Forget Prada, forget Monica, Yeslam Binladin, one of Osama bin Laden's 53 siblings, is planning to launch a clothing line under a label that might carry a marketing challenge: "Bin Ladin."
posted by waterfrog at 4:07 AM PST - 7 comments

"We're fighting our own terrorist war," says Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America. David Rocci conters: "There's a huge difference in what people think copyright is and what the corporations think copyright is. I'm not so sure it's morally wrong for someone to go [see] 'Lord of the Rings' in the theater two or three times and then download it because they like it." (NYT link)
posted by muckster at 12:12 AM PST - 11 comments