March 24, 2016

Slaughter at the bridge: Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle

About 3200 years ago, two armies clashed at a river crossing near the Baltic Sea. The confrontation can’t be found in any history books—the written word didn’t become common in these parts for another 2000 years—but this was no skirmish between local clans. Thousands of warriors came together in a brutal struggle, perhaps fought on a single day, using weapons crafted from wood, flint, and bronze, a metal that was then the height of military technology.
posted by ShooBoo at 8:02 PM PST - 48 comments

1, 2, 3, 4 Channels Working Overtime

Chiptune XTC covers: (via Chalkhills on fb.)
posted by scruss at 7:25 PM PST - 18 comments

Of Smoothies and (Internet News) Cycles

LIGHTS UP
Buzzfeed: “Gwyneth Paltrow drinks $200 smoothies for breakfast!”
Vanity Fair: “Actually, they’re just $10.52 smoothies.”
Washington Post: “Whatever! It’s a good excuse for us to make a video and talk about the theoretical health benefits.”
fin.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:00 PM PST - 49 comments

The Harvard Library That Protects The World's Rarest Colors

The most unusual colors from Harvard's storied pigment library include beetle extracts, poisonous metals, and human mummies
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:52 PM PST - 18 comments

The Drew Review: Child Sexual Exploitation in Sheffield and Yorkshire

(TW for all links) BBC: A review of South Yorkshire Police's handling of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the region has criticised the force for its inadequate response. The report, by Professor John Drew, said the force missed opportunities to address the issue and senior officers prioritised other crimes. The 107-page review was commissioned by the region's Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings. [more inside]
posted by marienbad at 4:47 PM PST - 6 comments

Freeze or you're a goner

Why Cryonics makes sense [SMLWbW (Single Massive Link Wait but Why)]
posted by Baldons at 3:47 PM PST - 118 comments

Here, let me show you what I can do

Every song is better with a Heavy Metal drummer. [more inside]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 3:36 PM PST - 34 comments

Alex Trebek: (into mirror) Who is alex trebek

[ordering cake over phone]
"and what would you like the cake to say?"
[covers phone to ask wife]
"do we want a talking cake?" @KeetPotato

The 100 Funniest Jokes in the History of Twitter*
*according to GQ Magazine
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:23 PM PST - 96 comments

Yeah, that's a concern.

I saw Hamilton, so now I'm going to orphan my son (McSweeney's) [more inside]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:16 PM PST - 47 comments

Shouldn't there be a statute of limitations on all Tom Green movies?

James Myers, Jr. of Concord, NC was arrested on Tuesday after police stopped him for a broken brake light and, upon running his license, were surprised to discover an outstanding arrest warrant for him. From 2002. For failing to return a rented VHS tape (VHS was a video storage format popular in the United States at one time). That tape? Tom Green's 2001 opus, Freddy Got Fingered. (Trailer)
posted by Naberius at 12:14 PM PST - 99 comments

Bedrock City in Bad Decline

"What happens when a cultural empire crumbles?"
posted by Iridic at 11:06 AM PST - 52 comments

Neural Godwin

Microsoft deletes 'teen girl' AI after it became a Hitler-loving sex robot within 24 hours.
posted by signal at 10:55 AM PST - 122 comments

It is easier to care for a smaller person

Should parents of children with severe disabilities be allowed to stop their growth? (SLNYT) When children with severe disabilities that rely on caregivers for every basic need enter adulthood the simple tasks of caring for them can become prohibitively difficult for parents. A small group of doctors and parents believe arresting their growth could be for the best, but is it ethical?
posted by selenized at 10:00 AM PST - 90 comments

How he got away with it

Jian Ghomeshi has been acquitted of all charges of sexual assault. [more inside]
posted by randomnity at 9:53 AM PST - 320 comments

I didn't know how to protect myself if that meant disappointing men.

"Just recently, I began to see what I lost. It wasn't a job, a wife, a house. There was no tangible evidence of my fall, no record of my mistakes to be expunged. There was only the wreckage of my early adulthood, the loss of my unstoppable nature, and the empty hole where once my confidence grew. There was only a string of decisions to run and run again, to hide from ambition, to leave the theater forever, and to disown my dedication as a childish fantasy. And the reinforcement of my suspicion that I was only visible when I was wanted, and that nothing about me would ever eclipse my objecthood." (Content warning for child sex abuse)
posted by amnesia and magnets at 8:08 AM PST - 5 comments

Why it's getting harder to prosecute white collar crime.

"They also don’t really have the will. They’re really nervous about it, very trepidatious." Jesse Eisinger outlines why we're seeing fewer successful actions against corporate and white collar misdoings in the United States.
Highlighted is the Thompson memo of 2003. [more inside]
posted by doctornemo at 7:44 AM PST - 27 comments

On totems

Sarah McCarry writes an essay about being called out for inappropriate use of Native American imagery
posted by Uncle at 7:37 AM PST - 74 comments

BroDog

Opinions of BrewDog tend to go one of four ways. The evangelists think the company can do no wrong. The haters cannot get past the relentless self-promotion, and loathe everything BrewDog stands for. The compromisers argue that yes, they might on the whole be happier if BrewDog toned down the language and cut the stunts, but hey, they brew such great beers you have to forgive them.... The final group, let’s call them the sceptics, reckon the beer and the hype are, in fact, inseparable. The aggressive, outrageous, infuriating (and ingenious) rise of BrewDog
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:57 AM PST - 43 comments

"The Hair" is everywhere

The Hair: Why nearly every woman on TV has the same hairstyle.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:39 AM PST - 105 comments

be better and grow further

"The ONLY site with the longest list of Podcasts of Color, from all over the world covering news, racism, comedy, sports, relationships & friends chatting about a variety of subjects. Come find a new podcast to try, you need more in your life."
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:29 AM PST - 4 comments

Johan Cruyff, inventor of the Cruyff Turn, dies at 68.

One of the only football (soccer) players to have invented a move that is known by his name: The stunning Cruyff Turn. "The move became instantly world famous, seared indelibly on the brain, stored forever and available for replay on your mind’s eye-player." In slow motion.
posted by colie at 6:02 AM PST - 42 comments

Basics

Wikimedia and Facebook have given Angolans free access to their websites, but not to the rest of the internet. So, naturally, Angolans have started hiding pirated movies and music in Wikipedia articles and linking to them on closed Facebook groups, creating a totally free and clandestine file sharing network in a country where mobile internet data is extremely expensive.
Vice
posted by infini at 3:59 AM PST - 56 comments

Things. Organized. Neatly

More neat things. Six more years of neatly organized things from previously
posted by Thella at 2:07 AM PST - 21 comments

Bon appétit!

Mary Jo Catlett sings "Smokin' Reefers" by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. (SLYT)
posted by Bassariscus at 12:19 AM PST - 2 comments

RIP, Joe Garagiola

Baseball may indeed be a funny game, but it just got a little less so. The major league catcher turned longtime NBC broadcaster passed away yesterday at the age of 90.
posted by non canadian guy at 12:02 AM PST - 27 comments

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