February 6, 2012

Truth, lies and Afghanistan

A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army describes his latest deployment to Afghanistan in an article titled: Truth, lies and Afghanistan.
posted by AElfwine Evenstar at 11:41 PM PST - 57 comments

Tetranitratoxycarbon

"They fit more together, and they look better, and all the holes have to be filled." And with that, 10-year-old Clara Lazen discovers a new molecule, tetranitratoxycarbon. Which can apparently go BOOM if you figure out how to actually make some of it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:27 PM PST - 47 comments

they are creative in away that no one would imagen

'In life, “no two people regard the world in exactly the same way,” as J. W. von Goethe says. Everyone sees and reacts to things in different ways. Even though they may see the world in similar ways, no two people’s views will ever be exactly the same. This statement is true since everyone sees things through different viewpoints.'
posted by crayz at 10:28 PM PST - 8 comments

Tobe Hooper's "Lifeforce"

... it’s no exaggeration to say that LIFEFORCE tosses everything in but the kitchen in an attempt to entertain you. Actually, scratch that, it tosses everything including the kitchen sink. By the time the movie is complete, you may have to watch it again just to verify that you actually saw what you just saw. The movie is a mess of enormous proportions which I absolutely loved.* (previously) [more inside]
posted by Trurl at 9:49 PM PST - 59 comments

Digging for nuggets from the dusty old storerooms of pop

Left and to the Back is a blog exploring the dark and dusty world of flop singles and albums, the kind you may find lingering near the stock room of your local second hand record store (if you still have one), or perhaps going for extortionate sums on ebay. [Found whilst trying to answer this AskMe].
posted by unliteral at 8:33 PM PST - 5 comments

The new, New Inquiry

The New Inquiry launched a new web-based magazine this weekend with a host of smart bloggers and cultural critique. Work on the site is released under a creative commons license. Subscriptions are gently requested though not required. [more inside]
posted by latkes at 6:38 PM PST - 8 comments

Right-wingers are simply dumber on average

According to this substantial study recently published in Psychological Science, "lower general intelligence (g) in childhood predicts greater racism in adulthood, and this effect was largely mediated via conservative ideology.". As the Daily Mail summarises, right-wingers are less intelligent than left wingers. [more inside]
posted by wilful at 5:39 PM PST - 119 comments

Queen Elizabeth's 60th anniversary

"I say, Philip, let's order a pizza and watch a movie with the corgis!" Queen Elizabeth celebrates 60 years on the throne.
posted by anothermug at 5:27 PM PST - 63 comments

Fancy derivatives are mostly gone. Prop trading is gone. There’s less leverage everywhere. Mortgages are back to old-fashioned conservative mortgages—which is a good thing.”

The End of Wall Street As They Knew It
After surprisingly successful financial reform, public vilification, and politics that have turned against them, the Masters of the Universe are masters no longer.
posted by clearly at 5:18 PM PST - 73 comments

The Untouchable

Meet Mayawati, India's multi-millionaire lower-caste power broker and politician (and don't miss the slide show). [more inside]
posted by vidur at 5:04 PM PST - 7 comments

'Halftime in America'

Clint Eastwood: "'This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines.' The [Super Bowl] commercial, 'Halftime in America,' didn’t reveal its sponsor until the final seconds, when Chrysler logos appeared briefly, but it has already become a classic, and perhaps inevitably in this election year, a political football.* [more inside]
posted by ericb at 3:22 PM PST - 185 comments

"…and he's really, really good."

How would the country react if the best quarterback in the league was a Satanist?
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:12 PM PST - 26 comments

Big League Chew – Retrospective of an American Original

The new weblog Collecting Candy hits it out of the park with their first post Big League Chew – Retrospective of an American Original.
posted by MegoSteve at 1:58 PM PST - 40 comments

Israeli New Wave

Israeli New Wave? Yes! May I introduce The Clique. Here is their song Incubator. Here is another song called Don't Light A Candle For Me. Here are the lyrics to the second song in Hebrew and English. [more inside]
posted by wittgenstein at 1:01 PM PST - 7 comments

Memorize a landline number RIGHT NOW

Los Angeles County jails don't post lists to bail bondsmen. You cannot make collect calls to cell phones. Many people don't even have land lines. That combination kept one man in jail for five days. via the hairpin.
posted by insectosaurus at 12:22 PM PST - 139 comments

Homemade Shrines

A fascinating collection of over 150 shrines, mostly made by teenagers. Readers and staffers of Rookie contributed these photos of mostly homemade shrines, featuring subjects as diverse as Frida Kahlo, Britney Spears, Japan, nail polish, and Grandma.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 11:26 AM PST - 28 comments

John Alan Schwartz: From Faces of Death to reviewing movies on YouTube

"I said before the film has historical importance (and it does), but it's relevance was more recognized in 1978 than the present day. The YouTube generation will be unable to comprehend what purpose the film served thirty years ago, and thus it's difficult to ignore how hopelessly dated Faces Of Death really is." It's relevance may have faded, but the intrigue remains. Deadspin recently interviewed the writer and producer of four compilations of death and gore, John Alan Schwartz. And of course, they discuss the fake gore in the monkey scene (interview clip with special make-up effects creators Allan Apone and Douglas White, with the memorable scene). And what is Schwarts up to today? He and his wife post videos of their movie reviews on YouTube (Tumblr, YouTube profile page, their website).
posted by filthy light thief at 11:06 AM PST - 53 comments

brrrrrrr

It's pretty darn cold in Europe this winter, with over 300 dead as a result sadly.
posted by yeoz at 9:56 AM PST - 140 comments

John Christopher [1922-2012]

Samuel Youd, who wrote under the name John Christopher, has passed away. [more inside]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:27 AM PST - 53 comments

OneSwarm

OneSwarm is a privacy preserving BitTorrent client that offers  permissions for restricting access to shared content  and  sharing without attribution, with the anonymity being provided by fellow OneSwarm peers routing transfers. [more inside]
posted by jeffburdges at 9:23 AM PST - 16 comments

"It was as if he knew he was going to a very dark place and he knew he couldn't do anything about it,"

Artistic decline through Alzheimer's - William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1995 yet he continued drawing. His last self portraits painted between 1995 and 2001 tell a unique tale of an implacable disease encroaching on to his mind and senses. [more inside]
posted by quin at 8:50 AM PST - 39 comments

Videogamers Embark on Non-Killing Spree

Some video game aficionados are now trying to beat violent games without killing any other characters in the process.
posted by reenum at 8:39 AM PST - 151 comments

The 'Donorsexual'

The Virgin Father 'Trent Arsenault is 36 years old and has never had sex, but he’s the father of fifteen children — and counting.' [more inside]
posted by zarq at 7:56 AM PST - 90 comments

Why the olympics suck

Will Self on the 2012 London Olympics .
posted by numberstation at 7:27 AM PST - 54 comments

What makes Ron Paul tick?

“He believed in not too much federal government,” said Siegfried Smith, a classmate. “And this was a time when we didn’t have a lot.”
posted by Renoroc at 7:21 AM PST - 164 comments

"You play Eimear, an innocent little girl with reprehensible parents."

Oíche Mhaith (Good Night) is a game by IGF Festival Finalists Stephen (increpare) Lavelle and Terry Cavanaugh about families, bereavement and resurrection. With some potentially NSFW language and content, the game represents a collaboration between two well-known players in the field of micro and art games. Lavelle has more than 100 games on his website. Cavanagh is less prolific, although he has just released the first of five planned "small games", ChatChat, a simple graphical MUD/chatroom in which the players are all cats (previously). [more inside]
posted by running order squabble fest at 7:17 AM PST - 15 comments

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