May 25, 2009

“There is a great deal of quarrelling in the houses, and contending for power and authority; and the second wife is against the first wife, perhaps, in some instances.”

Every child believes he's special. But when you are number ten of twenty, with three "sister- mothers" - two of whom are full- blooded sisters-and a grandfather whom thousands of people believe speaks directly to God, it can be hard to figure out what "special" really means. All told, I have roughly sixty-five aunts and uncles on my dad's side and twenty- two on my mom's-with probably thousands of cousins. In families as large as mine, even keeping track of your own siblings-let alone cousins and aunts and uncles-is difficult.... My family had what our church called "royal blood." We were direct descendants of our prophet through my father's line. My mother, too, is the child of a prophet,... When I was little, my family was favored, in the church's elite. I was assured that there was a place for me in the highest realms of heaven... I would one day become a god, ruling over my own spinning world.
Brent Jeffs, the grandson of Rulon Jeffs (and nephew of Warren Jeffs), explains growing up a Lost Boy in the FLDS, in an audio interview on NPR.
posted by orthogonality at 10:51 PM PST - 39 comments

Our crusade was so stupid that only an idealist could have thought it up

Canada’s Governor General began her Arctic tour by gutting a freshly slaughtered seal, pulling out its heart and eating it raw. [more inside]
posted by KokuRyu at 10:34 PM PST - 100 comments

Girls Gone Wild

Top Six Ways To Kill Piper. Apparently unaware of how controversial and high-profile cyber-bullying has become, the possibility of consequences, regardless of age, and a strong local preference against lists of arbitrary length, middle school girls make instructional video about how to kill classmate. No charges are filed. (via Huffington Post)
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:53 PM PST - 60 comments

Red Bull Red Bull Red Bullybullybull

"Whoever said the early bird gets the worm could have been talking about me, only I’m a person, not a bird, and I’m not interested in getting worms, more like getting things done. But I do get up early." The secret to success in the wired age, according to Andy Borowitz [previously, 2].
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 9:22 PM PST - 16 comments

intellectual property asshole competition

who's the biggest asshole? [more inside]
posted by philip-random at 7:53 PM PST - 51 comments

The Creative Mind of Tomas Mankovsky

Lonely, lovelorn robots (film). Tardiness and sharks (film). Creative sounds with dominoes. (audio) Using Tetris as the inspiration for interior design elements. (visual) Just a few fun things floating around in the mind of Tomas Mankovsky.
posted by jeanmari at 7:32 PM PST - 2 comments

This script is terminated

What went wrong with Terminator Salvation? Devin Faraci outlines the movie's doomed-from-conception original script in detail, and theorizes as to how Salvation ended up being "rewritten, piecemeal, on the set." (Spoilers, natch.)
posted by hermitosis at 7:06 PM PST - 106 comments

Living legend

Let's slide over to KCRW for an interview with Sly Stone, who, happily, is continuing his gradual reemergence into the public eye. Then howsabout we rewind to 1974, just a few months after the incredible Fresh was released, for another (albeit odd and somewhat awkward) interview on the Mike Douglas Show. And yeah, Sly Stone, we definitely want you to stay. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:27 PM PST - 19 comments

Eric Doeringer's Smoke Filtration Systems

The Smoke Filtration Systems are a series of sculptures that are also working marijuana water pipes. The mechanics of each pipe are thoroughly tested, but the actual sculptures are presented in clean, unused condition.
posted by Joe Beese at 5:44 PM PST - 31 comments

Mi Vida Loca

Courtesy of the BBC, an award-winning mystery masquerading as a language education program. [more inside]
posted by skoosh at 4:32 PM PST - 15 comments

May the force of others be with you all

“Until the recent Great Rebellion, the Jedi Bendu were the most feared warriors in the universe. For one hundred thousand years, generations of Jedi perfected their art as the personal bodyguards of the emperor. They were the chief architects of the invincible Imperial Space Force which expanded the Empire across the galaxy, from the celestial equator to the farthest reaches of the Great Rift. Now these legendary warriors are all but extinct. One by one they have been hunted down and destroyed as enemies of the New Empire by a ferocious and sinister rival warrior sect, the Knights of Sith.” - The first draft of Star Wars... was awful.
posted by Artw at 2:39 PM PST - 150 comments

Gymnastics + Parkour = Awesome

Damien Walters combines fantastic gymnastic ability with innovative parkour techniques. His ShowReel 2009 impressed me. He and the Derby City Gym Lads just "messing around" amazed me. But he and his incredibly talented kids horsing around made me a fan and made my day. [more inside]
posted by lazaruslong at 1:03 PM PST - 48 comments

Should the Government Give You a Credit Card?

"In fact, while transactional credit provision is a perfectly good business, it might be reasonable for the state to offer basic transactional credit as a public good." Blogger Steve Randy Waldman has an idea that's so crazy it might work. He buried it in a nice wonky, obscure post about transactional and revolving credit, but now has been linked by Ezra Klein at his new WaPo blog. Will Metafilter heads explode?
posted by emjaybee at 12:48 PM PST - 27 comments

Go enjoy it, you hoopy froods.

Happy Towel Day. [more inside]
posted by kldickson at 10:30 AM PST - 25 comments

Mini Moo.

In these hard economic times, everyone's feeling the pinch. Some farmers have started downsizing to miniature cows.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:10 AM PST - 36 comments

In brightest day, in blackest night...

Green Lantern Movie Trailer (fan made)
posted by blue_beetle at 10:01 AM PST - 47 comments

クレイジーケンバンド!

The Crazy Ken Band! Cool and Hot! Swinging horns! Groovy chicks! Fast cars! Danger! Crazy! CRAZY! [more inside]
posted by ardgedee at 9:25 AM PST - 5 comments

Varg is free!

Varg is free! But, will all the glitter girls go for black metal? [more inside]
posted by geos at 8:36 AM PST - 30 comments

Do I have to choose?

Pick One
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 8:14 AM PST - 96 comments

Get your mind into the gutter

Pop-sci author Mary Roach shares 10 entertaining facts about the orgasm.
posted by dgaicun at 7:01 AM PST - 57 comments

Daddy, Mommy, More Video

TotLol is a video website designed specifically for children. It is community moderated Youtube. The videos are submitted, screened and rated by parents. Some samples include: Bassett Hound Beat Box, Guitar Tips for Kids, and a Children's Book on India. Educational and fun.
posted by netbros at 6:16 AM PST - 10 comments

Sach's Attack

Ad hominem attacks, discreditation and the increasingly shrill attempts to gather support against the rapid popularity of Dambisa Moyo's book "Dead Aid" [recently] are raising the question: Has the time come for 'aging western academics and rock stars' to retire gracefully from the scene? [more inside]
posted by infini at 3:37 AM PST - 57 comments

I'm coming home via Chicago

Ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett has died. [more inside]
posted by Rangeboy at 12:33 AM PST - 67 comments

Carvaka

Atheistic Materialism in Ancient India. Interesting piece on the ancient Indian philosophical school of Carvaka.
posted by homunculus at 12:18 AM PST - 12 comments

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