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Kenneth Grant, who has died aged 86, was probably the last living link to the voluptuary, occultist and megalomaniac Aleister Crowley; after Crowley’s death Grant co-edited and published many of the self-styled mystic’s writings, but he also became involved in a protracted wrangle over his own claim to be Crowley’s heir. Via.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:50 PM PST - 34 comments

Over 50 years after the original Project Nekton, high-flying adventurer Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Oceanic team plans five dives into the deep blue sea with a one-man flying sub, starting with the 36,201 foot deep Mariana Trench.
posted by cenoxo at 10:33 PM PST - 30 comments

Guy dances: Dance Battle Submission | Girl dances: Slats Slats Slats. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 9:37 PM PST - 44 comments

Stanley Kubrick’s Chicago, 1949 [ via ] [more inside]
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:28 PM PST - 20 comments

Collapse Into Now Film Project is a set of 12 short videos to accompany the songs on R.E.M.s latest album. “I chose to do the film project as an attempt to redefine what an ‘album’ can be in the 21st century,” [Stipe] said. “And I matched all of the songs to artists I thought could best translate each into a film or visual piece.”
Half the films are available on Youtube:
It Happened Today
Oh My Heart
Mine Smell Like Honey (contains Stipe being manhandled)
Uberlin (contains Kick-Ass star dancing)
Alligator Aviator Autopilot Antimatter (features Peaches)
Walk It Back (contains horse penis) [more inside]
posted by WhackyparseThis at 8:51 PM PST - 18 comments

A University of Michigan study has found that 1 in 5 American women have had children by several different men. Time Magazine dubs the phenomenon "domino dads". The study is the first of its kind to survey Americans from all walks of life, and it finds that the practice can be found across economic classes. But is its publication putting an unfair spotlight on black women?
posted by shii at 8:50 PM PST - 63 comments

Laughing Owls. That is all.
posted by The Owls at 8:38 PM PST - 31 comments

What your Favorite Classic Rock Band says About You (Part One) as well as What your Favorite Classic Rock Band says About You (Part Two)
posted by storybored at 8:13 PM PST - 83 comments

Pick a year to find out when the world should have ended/is ending/will end.
posted by daninnj at 7:02 PM PST - 30 comments

Forget Adam Sandler. Over the past few years, there has been a proliferation of Jewish take-offs of popular songs. The Fountainheads have produced Purim and Pesach (Passover) covers. The Maccabeats had a good amount of exposure with their Hanukkah and put out a Purim, too. Of course, not all of these songs are covers.
posted by dzkalman at 6:49 PM PST - 8 comments

IBM researchers working on nanoparticles to destroy drug-resistant bacteria Hot on the heels of a report on the horrific threat of antibiotics-resistant bacteria, this article highlights one possible solution- using polymers that would attack bacteria membranes, instead of drugs. [more inside]
posted by Apocryphon at 5:39 PM PST - 21 comments

"One day a little boy came up, he must have been about four and he saw me taking off my (prosthetic) legs and he started with the 'why' questions, you know, 'why haven't you got any legs', etc. And I said 'have you heard of The Little Mermaid?' and he said 'yes' and I said 'I'm a mermaid' and he got this look on his face and he said 'wow that's cool' and ran off to tell his dad.

I'll have to turn up to that beach again sometime with my tail - just in case he's there."

Weta Digital are the special effects team behind the costumes, weapons and creatures of the Lord of the Rings movies, Avatar and even a sonic screwdriver prop that could be making an appearance on the next season of Doctor Who. In 2009, they created a fully functional mermaid tail pro bono for Nadya Vessey, an Auckland woman who is a double leg amputee. Video News Report: 1, 2.
posted by zarq at 4:18 PM PST - 37 comments

A Tiny Day in the Jackson Hole Backcountry
posted by puny human at 3:14 PM PST - 33 comments

We have heard how the officer – who had been expected to remain stationed by his van – strayed from his post after grappling with a protester he tried to arrest for spraying graffiti on a colleague's vehicle. He then swung a coat at another protester, pulled a BBC cameraman to the ground, used a palm strike against a man trying to get through a cordon and finally pushed a man he said was threatening a dog handler. Harwood said he was confused, isolated and fearful of his life, and was dealing with a "very hostile" crowd. When we resume in the next few minutes, we should hear finally about his encounter with Tomlinson.

Liveblogging the Ian Tomlinson inquest: Police Constable Simon Harwood explains his alleged attack on Ian Tomlinson
posted by orthogonality at 2:16 PM PST - 77 comments

Scaffoldage. If you like construction, with particular reference to terrifyingly lashed-together metal or bamboo rods reaching dizzyingly up into the sky, then you've come to the right thread.
posted by The Discredited Ape at 2:15 PM PST - 23 comments

It's that time of year again! Time to vote for the 2011 Name of the Year! This year's contestants include such heavyweights as Col. Many-Bears Grinder, Ebenezer Noonoo, Yolanda Supersad, RexAchilles Imperial, and La'Peaches Pitts. [more inside]
posted by eugenen at 2:08 PM PST - 61 comments

Follow Up: Entreprenuer featured on front page of StartUp Britain speaks out
posted by nam3d at 2:04 PM PST - 12 comments

A Euro Scam That Unfolded at a Snail's Pace “It wasn’t so unusual to get coins from China,” said Susanne Kreutzer, a Bundesbank spokesman. “That is a business model for some people.”
posted by chavenet at 1:42 PM PST - 18 comments

"You may have heard the name Christopher Butler in the news lately but certainly not for reasons that the 49-year-old Concord resident would want you to know about. I’ve been following Butler’s mysterious story since last August, when he invited me to write a Diablo feature about his business. It unexpectedly turned out to be the most interesting—and frightening—story in my 14 years of being a journalist."
posted by brundlefly at 1:10 PM PST - 69 comments

Inside David Foster Wallace's Private Self-Help Library
posted by AceRock at 1:02 PM PST - 75 comments

[Antonioni] gave to three elderly Muslims the pictures he had taken of them. The eldest one as soon as he took a glance at the photos, immediately returned them with these words: "What is it good for, to stop the time?" Andrei Tarkovsky's Polaroids
posted by juv3nal at 11:48 AM PST - 19 comments

How To Write A Generic SF Novel
posted by Artw at 10:54 AM PST - 166 comments

Seoul tears down an urban freeway and life goes on
posted by aniola at 9:55 AM PST - 104 comments

With the crackdown on smoking and higher cigarette taxes in New York City, people who sell individual cigarettes, also known as loosies, are rapidly gaining new customers.
posted by reenum at 9:37 AM PST - 69 comments

WANTED: Known as 'La Bête' but kills under three aliases. Reddish brown with dark ridged stripe down the back. Resembles wolf/hyena but big as a donkey. Long gaping jaw, 6 claws, pointy upright ears and supple furry tail - mobile like a cat's and can knock you over. Cry: more like horse neighing than wolf howling. Last seen by people mostly now dead.

Wolf, werewolf, hyena, baboon or mesonychid: In many respects the beast of Gévaudan was like other creatures in the annals of cryptozoology - but for one: historical records indicate that, over a 4 year span, it (or 'they') killed around 100 people - eating most of them. [more inside]
posted by rongorongo at 9:18 AM PST - 42 comments

Winded - a journey to find out the real truth behind Wind Turbines [SLVimeo].
posted by scruss at 9:03 AM PST - 63 comments

Wisconsin Governor Walker's recent union busting bill did more than just bust unions. It also converts 37 top agency attorneys, communications officials and legislative liaisons from civil service positions to jobs appointed by the governor. Meet Brian Deschane a 20-something college drop-out with two drunk driving convictions. He the new man in charge of environmental regulations in Wisconsin. [more inside]
posted by Bonzai at 7:49 AM PST - 558 comments

The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch is a cute animated sketch currently showing on the ABC network in Australia. You can view short (2-3 minute) episodes on the website. Better yet you can create your own interactive heartscape. [more inside]
posted by skauskas at 6:43 AM PST - 5 comments

Vs. Airman is kind of mind-blowing the first time you see it. It is not a PC or flash game, but a romhack that can run on a real NES. But which game is it a hack of? [more inside]
posted by JHarris at 1:46 AM PST - 17 comments

Lionfish have invaded; several creative attempts have been made to eradicate the poisonous fish. Restaurants and the government are putting them on the menu, spear fishermen are organizing hunts, and more recently divers are training sharks to hunt them.
posted by Felex at 1:43 AM PST - 51 comments

If you've been to Tokyo anytime in the past few months, you can't have missed seeing the new Tokyo Sky Tree [images | official website]. The tower is not quite finished, but is already the world's tallest tower (and second highest structure after the Burj Khalifa). But that's not what this post is about. "A tower resembling Tokyo Sky Tree -- the world's tallest broadcasting tower currently under construction in Tokyo's Sumida Ward -- has been found depicted on a landscape ukiyo-e woodblock print from the mid-19th century." And they aren't kidding!
posted by woodblock100 at 12:28 AM PST - 37 comments