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Poets Against the War At Sam Hamill's Poets Against the War, the story of the recent cancellation (link to Canada's Globe and Mail), by Laura Bush, of a Feb. 12 poetry symposium at the White House. From the G and M article: Stanley Kunitz, poet laureate 2000-01, told reporters, "I think there was a general feeling that the current administration is not really a friend of the poetic community and that its program of attacking Iraq is contrary to the humanitarian position that is at the centre of the poetic impulse."
Hamill is gathering contributions from poets around the world, including Pulitzer Prize-winners Yusef Komunyakaa and W.S. Merwin, National Book Award winner Marilyn Hacker, novelist Ursula K. Le Guin, and Adrienne Rich.
This post is not intended the fan the flames of 'War on Iraq: Yes or No', but to explore Kunitz's contention: Is there at the centre of the poetic impulse a particular type of humanitarianism? Is there a space for poets and poetry in political debate? Are poets the "unacknowledged legislators of the world"? [more inside]
posted by jokeefe at 9:06 PM PST - 35 comments

Ed Rosenthal found guilty. Is this man so harmful and dangerous to our society that he deserves a harsher sentence than child molesters?
posted by spazzm at 8:02 PM PST - 77 comments

The New Global Job Shift. The next round of globalization is sending upscale jobs offshore. They include basic research, chip design, engineering--even financial analysis.
posted by Ty Webb at 5:18 PM PST - 50 comments

The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network Live in Washington or Oregon? Felt a little rumble recently (like I did)? Want to see if it was an earthquake? You can even check out the live seismographs, including some on Mt. St. Helens.
posted by doorsnake at 4:01 PM PST - 5 comments

Reach a higher state of being, in just four minutes.
posted by crunchland at 3:27 PM PST - 10 comments

It's been 2,000 years since the world has seen anything like this! As it says on the site: "In concept, The Holy Land ExperienceTM is an idea whose time has come . . . In quality of construction and theming, The Holy Land Experience compares favorably with some of the finest museums found anywhere in America. And in terms of Christ-honoring Christian venues, we believe it sets a new standard." I've never been, but you can bet I will be on my next trip to Orlando! (link via Mobtown Shank)
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 2:41 PM PST - 17 comments

Andrew Antone can't help falling in love... If, like me, you're tired of good looking, teen pop icons with salon coiffed hair and rock hard abs, but don't want to give up the illicit pleasures of horrendous teen pop, I humbly submit Andrew Antone, 15 year old icon to be, in an alternate universe where looks & talent are no obstacle to pop icon, fame & fortune. For added delight, I encourage you all to customize your desk with the free wallpapers.
posted by jonson at 1:58 PM PST - 62 comments

Reagan's Son... It took me all week to get around to reading this article from last Sunday's Times Magazine. I was astonished to discover no discussion of the story here. This strikes me as one of the most interesting recent pieces written about the president, and from the pen of a journalist who doesn't pull punches...NYT OpEd writer, Bill Keller. (NYT reg required)
posted by cyclopz at 1:53 PM PST - 11 comments

Happy Meals No Longer Bringing Smiles To McDonalds. Best news I've heard since December. And to bring Mom ("very important to us") back into the fold, McD may begin including Mom-toys with the HMs. No, no. More like...lip gloss, or sweepstakes entries for spa visits. Stuff that would tip any conscientious mother over into the crap-for-food camp.Other ideas? Fact is, EVERY McDonalds customer should be eating the happy meal. (last link possibly NSFW)
posted by luser at 1:09 PM PST - 23 comments

Hmm...this one looks genuine: I AM GEORGE WALKER BUSH, SON OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH.... THIS LETTER MIGHT SURPRISE YOU BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT MET NEITHER IN PERSON NOR BY CORRESPONDENCE. I CAME TO KNOW OF YOU IN MY SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE AND REPUTABLE PERSON TO HANDLE A VERY CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS TRANSACTION.... I AM WRITING YOU IN ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE PRIMARILY TO SEEK YOUR ASSISTANCE IN ACQUIRING OIL FUNDS THAT ARE PRESENTLY TRAPPED IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ....
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 12:23 PM PST - 16 comments

Shawn Fanning - Patron Saint of the Internet? Fed up with hackers, a flood of spam and lousy connections, a group of Roman Catholics have launched a search to determine the Patron Saint of the Internet. Actually, I vote for Danni Ashe. I can't wait to see what her miracles are like...
posted by mathis23 at 12:06 PM PST - 17 comments

Should FCC allow big media to get bigger? The FCC will soon rule on whether media megaboxes should be allowed to dominate a given market's radio, television, and print media simultaneously. They have already loosened restrictions on radio and the proliferation of Clear Channel has led to a 30% reduction in radio station ownership and, some believe, to the homogenization of popular music. Should the FCC eliminate the regulations preventing mega-media from monopolizing television and print media?
posted by answergrape at 11:37 AM PST - 28 comments

Portland Thai Restaurants Discovers Indentured Servitude
posted by amanda at 11:25 AM PST - 23 comments

So THAT'S what that sound is! This has been driving me crazy for weeks! Just when you thought that it couldn't get any louder in your nabe... Oh well, at least some people are enjoying it.
posted by ubi at 11:06 AM PST - 37 comments

Video game music is designed to heighten tension, and get you involved in the game, but it's come a long way from the days of Pong, now we have a single video game generating a 4 CD boxset & a greatest hits CD. Game Music Home, one of the first sites dedicated to gaming music is still preserved online. Now there's even a game music database and sites like GameMusic.com, VGMusic.com, etc specialize in selling video game soundtracks. Here's a brief timeline of video game music. Of course with original songs like "Taxi Drivers Must Die" (lyric), how long before we see a video game song on the Billboard charts?
posted by riffola at 10:25 AM PST - 38 comments

National Engineers Week begins February 16, and this year, students everywhere will be competing to design Future Cities or the ever popular egg drop devices for competitions all over the country. They also plan to profile 50 engineers in honor of their 50th anniversary, and welcome submissions. Did you ever participate in egg drops or other cool engineering projects while in school?
posted by madamjujujive at 9:44 AM PST - 18 comments

Let the celebrations begin! According to the Chinese calendar, tomorrow begins the year 4700. The festivals and superstitions surround the celebration for the new year are fascinating in China as well as Korea. Which animal year were you born in and do you follow the Chinese, Japanese, or Korean zodiac? Finally, the mathematics behind the calendar are truly fascinating.
posted by Plunge at 9:10 AM PST - 15 comments

Hearing deja vu? It's true, the crew of a few are the voice of a who or two.
posted by pedantic at 8:42 AM PST - 13 comments

Vaclav Havel is retiring as president of the Czech Republic this weekend. The former dissident and playwright-cum-politician is profiled in the Guardian, the Globe & Mail and Radio Prague's site; or you can browse the great man's website.
posted by plep at 8:41 AM PST - 12 comments

Bandlink CD Intelligence provides instant access to... tour dates, latest photos, news, video and chat community whenever you play a specially encoded CD in an internet-connected CD drive. But is that really all? "Go online any time and check to see how many people are listening to your CD, what songs they are listening to, and how long they are listening." As a marketing professional, I can see the value of it to business. But from the consumer perspective, the possible abuses are scary.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:21 AM PST - 4 comments

Dr. Mitch McGraw, famous scientist, is shrunk in a freak accident to the size of a flea and ends up in the hair of his assistant, Ted Preston. Some Friday fun for those of you stuck in the office.
posted by essexjan at 7:53 AM PST - 3 comments

High Tec Shadow Play 'In Rotterdam, Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer used two 7000 watt lamps to create 1200 square metres of projected images which were overlayed by the shadows of passer-by's. A computer based tracking system monitored the shadows. Once the shadows matched the projected image, a new image (or "scene") was triggered. ' An impressive (if extravagant) bit of public art (QuickTime)
posted by rolo at 7:45 AM PST - 15 comments

A War Crime or an Act of War?

But the truth is, all we know for certain is that Kurds were bombarded with poison gas that day at Halabja. We cannot say with any certainty that Iraqi chemical weapons killed the Kurds. This is not the only distortion in the Halabja story. ..

This much about the gassing at Halabja we undoubtedly know: it came about in the course of a battle between Iraqis and Iranians. Iraq used chemical weapons to try to kill Iranians who had seized the town, which is in northern Iraq not far from the Iranian border. The Kurdish civilians who died had the misfortune to be caught up in that exchange. But they were not Iraq's main target.

And the story gets murkier: immediately after the battle the United States Defense Intelligence Agency investigated and produced a classified report, which it circulated within the intelligence community on a need-to-know basis. That study asserted that it was Iranian gas that killed the Kurds, not Iraqi gas. (NYT)
posted by y2karl at 7:43 AM PST - 34 comments

Ever wondered what the Aurora Borealis sounds like? The northern (or southern) lights generate VLF radio waves as well as light. These sounds have been captured here as hundreds of free mp3 downloads, and they make amazing ambient soundtracks. Random clicks, whirrs, pops and whistles, direct from outer space. The site also features other "weather sounds" generated by lightning storms and such, and explains how you can get your hands on a VLF receiver to hear the sounds yourself.
posted by Jimbob at 7:24 AM PST - 12 comments

I'm a Poet and I know it? Recognizing appalling verse as a humorous, sometimes oddly affecting balm. Rick from the Young Ones TV show made a huge impact on the field But tributes and poetry, of course, make for wonderful bedfellows. Just ask Ethan Hawke. Sometimes, though, one can try too hard to get the yucks. But perhaps nothing inspires inspired verse like our feline friends.
posted by chandy72 at 7:18 AM PST - 27 comments

In these troubled times, we would all do well to remember the lesson of the Apasht. But you'll have a hard time finding this vanished Neolithic culture in any mainstream anthropology textbook. That's why these archives are such an invaluable resource.
posted by staggernation at 7:13 AM PST - 8 comments

Frivolous Fun for Friday (although not quite lighthearted…) As an avid Gorey fan, I couldn't pass up posting these interactive murder mysteries. Shockwave required.
posted by Fenriss at 6:51 AM PST - 5 comments

So What Happened After The Wise Man Discovered He Was Wearing The Red Hat? Don Steinberg's hilarious brainteaser aftermaths inevitably makes one wonder what happens after fairy-tale endings or the punchlines in jokes.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 2:34 AM PST - 20 comments

Skydive naked! This 4.1 MB mpeg is NSFW, but if you enjoyed madamjujujive's pianist post, you might like this too.
posted by homunculus at 12:21 AM PST - 19 comments