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Paul Anka was born in Ottawa. Guy Lombardo hailed from London, Ontario. Believe it or not, but the Auld Lang Syne that we sing at New Year's was popularized by him. Neil Young was born in Toronto and sang (sometimes) about Canada. Oscar Peterson is from Montreal. Canadiana Suite, 1964. How have these amazing Canadian musicians affected your life, if at all? Are there other Canadian musicians that the world should know about, but for some reason does not (like the Tragically Hip, or Holly Cole, say)?
posted by ashbury at 11:48 PM PST - 70 comments

Irony in a Nutshell. Not an O'Reilly publication, but you can use it to teach yourself Irony in 24 hours. For dummies. And a reference for the rest of us.
posted by weston at 9:34 PM PST - 27 comments

Just Because They're Celebrity Chefs Doesn't Mean They Aren't Damn Fine Cooks: We're all supposed to yawn when it comes to TV Chefs, but that's just as silly as ignoring a writer or an actress because they're famous. Wolfgang Puck's website, for instance, is generously full of the most enticing recipes. On another note, my favourite TV chef, Rick Stein, has online a superb list of UK suppliers. Do you know of any other cuisine auteurs on the Web who are as generous with their savvy? Which chef wouldn't you mind having as your own private cook?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:54 PM PST - 36 comments

Fun things to do with your wiener. (Totally safe for work.)
posted by Wet Spot at 6:15 PM PST - 7 comments

GLAMORLUX Cool Collections ~ vintage photos, movie posters, book covers and album covers from Hollywood's golden era.
posted by crunchland at 4:30 PM PST - 6 comments

They sold everything from Earthquake Pills (caution: not effective on Road Runners) to Trick Balls (warning: explode on contact!). They may be the world's most diverse goods & services company, with the possible exception of Wal Mart. I speak, of course, of the fine folks at ACME, whose full catalog is finally available online. Go, now, read! Don't make me use my Ultimatum Dispatcher!
posted by jonson at 3:31 PM PST - 20 comments

Gallery of Fluid Dynamics. 'One of the most attractive features of fluid mechanics is the beauty of the flows one encounters. Whether one is observing vortex streets, the potential flow around an airfoil or body, shock refraction or diffraction, or waves breaking on a beach the aesthetic appeal of fluid mechanics is impossible to deny. '
posted by plep at 12:40 PM PST - 6 comments

The Mullet - Bollywood Style!! Ah, the mullet. Absolut Films tells of the birth of this maligned sartorial trend in "Mulit", a tongue-in-cheek branded content piece with '70s Bollywood flair. Both a :60 trailer and feature, "Mulit" is a musical love story about a man, a woman and an unfinished haircut that transcends class structures, fashion trends and predilections for bad hair. Without such roots, phrases like the 'short-long', 'hockey hair' and 'work in front, party in back' would be meaningless and '80s rock would still be searching for a signature style.
posted by turbanhead at 12:06 PM PST - 9 comments

No Brainer - I've eaten a lot of Tofu in my day and was concerned about "brain-shrink". Then I found about this, and stopped worrying - Is your brain really necessary? Apparently not:

"...The student in question was academically bright, had a reported IQ of 126 and was expected to graduate. When he was examined by CAT-scan, however, Lorber discovered that he had virtually no brain at all." I'm hungry...where's that tofu?...
posted by troutfishing at 10:00 AM PST - 48 comments

“. . . just that terrible pain of loss, of God not wanting me, of God not being God, of God not really existing.” Even the soon-to-be St. Theresa had moments of atheism; although this essay is too devotional for me (and doesn't even mention Hitchens's take) it does humanize the calcutta nun's experience for me. via aldaily.
posted by mdn at 7:56 AM PST - 19 comments

hearts of space: since 1983, stephen hill has been producing hearts of space, an hour long show for public radio devoted to ambient music. occasionally new agey but mostly culling brilliantly moody instrumental pieces from traditional, global and cutting edge backgrounds, hearts of space brings brian eno's idea of aural wallpaper into a world that forgets about subtlety.

unfortunately, the entire programme archive requires a subscription, but the playlists are complete and have links where appropriate. otherwise, american listeners can find a local broadcast (or via satellite radio).
posted by myopicman at 4:59 AM PST - 17 comments