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The identity of Banksy is up for auction on eBay. Bidding currently stands at $999,999.00 with 38 bids. He has been "exposed" before.
posted by deadbilly at 10:03 PM PST - 83 comments

"I am working to make a delicious Wisconsin human cheddar." (previously)
posted by kneecapped at 6:05 PM PST - 117 comments

Matthew Irvine Brown has written 18 short pieces specifically to be played in iTunes shuffle mode. The fragments can be downloaded from his site to create your own original track. A liking of glitch will probably increase your enjoyment.
posted by meech at 5:40 PM PST - 22 comments

Bayard Rustin was an important civil rights activist, the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and an invaluable strategist to Martin Luther King, Jr. Despite opposition relating to his status as an openly gay man, he continued to contribute throughout his life to the struggle for racial equality and later, for gay and lesbian equality. [more inside]
posted by Morrigan at 5:02 PM PST - 26 comments

Following 25 years of exile, and disembarking in the midst of a power vacuum, Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has returned to Haiti. [more inside]
posted by clarknova at 4:40 PM PST - 71 comments

Dogs Themselves - A 3-Part CBC Ideas Program (MP3) Do they think in visual images - or maps, or strings of ideas, or perhaps in whole stories? Do they think at all? [more inside]
posted by KokuRyu at 4:28 PM PST - 40 comments

Happy Martin Luther King Day everyone! Audio from The Pod F. Tomcast, well worth checking out.
posted by America at 4:27 PM PST - 16 comments

The way different people respond to Wikipedia may tell us more about them (or ourselves as we react) than it does about The Opus itself. Oh well, when you're rowing a boat, you're always looking at where you've been. At any rate, Atlantic has posted a nice selection of opinions on a worthy, controversial subject by mostly recognizable names.
posted by Twang at 4:23 PM PST - 74 comments

Mountain House, the first project in the U.S. from genius Japanese design firm Atelier Bow Wow. Designed for Mike Mills and Miranda July. [via]
posted by puny human at 4:16 PM PST - 24 comments

The new film Blue Valentine (trailer) features a damn fine 60's-era soul ballad called "You and Me," of mysterious origin. The exposure has sparked an effort to find out who sang it and where it came from. The archival label Numero Group (previously) discovered the rehearsal tape, labeled only 'Penny and the Quarters', at an estate sale in Columbus, OH. Since then, "we have played this recording to over 100 movers and shakers from the time and no one has a clue."
posted by naju at 2:37 PM PST - 28 comments

The Battle Hymn of Sarah Palin. (SLYTAWESOME)
posted by EarBucket at 2:30 PM PST - 177 comments

A nice collection of Soviet workplace safety posters.
posted by nasreddin at 1:45 PM PST - 61 comments

The Words That Maketh Murder/The Last Living Rose - Director Seamus Murphy introduces two of 12 short films he made for PJ Harvey's forthcoming LP, Let England Shake
posted by Artw at 1:15 PM PST - 19 comments

Basehead, also known as dc Basehead and Basehead 2.0, is an American alternative hip hop group formed by Michael Ivey in suburban Maryland in 1992. Basehead's 1992 debut album, Play with Toys, was recorded at Ivey's home with various studio musicians (hits: Ode to My Favorite Beer, Not Over You, 2000 BC). Ivey formed a touring band for live performances, which contributed to Basehead's second album, Not in Kansas Anymore (which contained what some consider his best song, Split Personality). [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:12 PM PST - 21 comments

Congratulations, Mr Karimov! On the eve of your first official visit to Brussels in years, President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, you deserve high praise. You have played the long game expertly and outmanoeuvred European foreign-policy makers so deftly that you have become a model of how to shrug off international pariah status. [more inside]
posted by ZenMasterThis at 12:11 PM PST - 11 comments

High profile cybercrime researcher and blogger Dancho Danchev has been missing since September. Many in the security community fear for his safety, and a recent report (google translate) has placed him in a psychiatric hospital since December 11th. (via)
posted by kaytwo at 12:10 PM PST - 6 comments

What scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit? (The Edge.org Question of 2011) [more inside]
posted by AceRock at 12:01 PM PST - 67 comments

What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love. -MLK (SLYT)
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 11:35 AM PST - 18 comments

If you put your name on only one online petition this year, then sign this one too. [more inside]
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:17 AM PST - 42 comments

On MLK Day, Some Thoughts on Segregated Schools, Arne Duncan, and President Obama "American schools are more segregated by race and class today than they were on the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, 43 years ago. The average white child in America attends a school that is 77 percent white, and where just 32 percent of the student body lives in poverty. The average black child attends a school that is 59 percent poor but only 29 percent white. The typical Latino kid is similarly segregated; his school is 57 percent poor and 27 percent white."
posted by Fizz at 10:40 AM PST - 55 comments

Why I Hate the Avant-Garde or, Why Laurie Anderson is less Avant-Garde than DJ Kool Herc. A rant with videos. Via The Front Section.
posted by mediareport at 10:34 AM PST - 112 comments

Amy Sedaris has a YouTube channel where she demonstrates how to craft objects from her new book Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People. So far she's made hot dogs on a rake, potato ships, a donut bird feeder, a Thanksgiving centerpiece, pompoms and a rabbit treat called Dynamite Stixx.
posted by Kattullus at 10:23 AM PST - 49 comments

Donkeys! Sometimes they play with the band, or with kittens (Oh Hm), or with cars, or with doors.
posted by The Whelk at 10:04 AM PST - 8 comments

How Private Is 'Private Charity'? Private charity may be more accurately described as "private donations coupled with involuntary, tax-financed public subsidies." And it's not fair: "very low-income people paying only payroll taxes get hardly any leverage for their donations. Very high-income people in states with high income-tax rates – such as New Jersey and New York – can through the tax code virtually double the money funneled to a charity per dollar of their own sacrifice." (previously)
posted by kliuless at 9:33 AM PST - 39 comments

Baseball Card Hall of Fame [via mefi projects]
posted by jjray at 9:01 AM PST - 23 comments

Comptine d'un autre ete : L'apres midi is a simple, heart-rending piano piece by Yann Tiersen. It has inspired covers spanning the range of musical expression: classical guitar, violin, harp, and piano and flute. Maybe that's not surprising, but the depth, sincerity, and number of metal covers was.
posted by fake at 9:01 AM PST - 22 comments

Why we're still fighting yesterday's economic war Above all, like historians assessing the Maginot Line, we must avoid comforting ourselves with the judgment that the [financial] system's architects were naive and that therefore we might hope to do much better. Far more important is to be aware that defenses are vulnerable precisely where they are strongest and to be prepared to respond creatively and calmly when they fail, as they surely will again.
posted by Philosopher's Beard at 6:26 AM PST - 19 comments

“Floating.” "Paint from a bucket" in slow motion, by Johann Cohrs & Siggi Kuckstein. Youtube version.
posted by zarq at 4:21 AM PST - 11 comments

"Dear Plasticians, As you may know, January 15th will be our 10th anniversary. Unfortunately, Plastic will shut down a month from then, around February 15th (exact date to come)." [more inside]
posted by iviken at 1:35 AM PST - 112 comments