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Wayne Joseph of Creole stock and therefore on the lighter end of the black color spectrum, decided on a whim to take a new ethnic DNA test he saw described on a 60 Minutes segment last year, to indulge a casual curiosity about his exact percentage of black blood. The results were staggering.
posted by lola at 11:06 PM PST - 36 comments

WEFAIL - funky, surreal flash, a design collaboration from martin-h and sofake. Click everything. (sound alert & possibly nsfw).
posted by madamjujujive at 10:29 PM PST - 6 comments

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's recent speech to the OIC has drawn criticism from around the world for its antisemitic tone. The same kind of assertion has been doing the rounds for centuries. The question is: where do beliefs like this come from?
Does this kind of conspiracy theory fall neatly out of small-world network theory (coupled with private obsessions and prejudices) or is Kevin Bacon really the Centre of the Hollywood Universe?
Is this an existing kind of inductive fallacy or do we need a new name for this phenomenon?
posted by snarfodox at 9:38 PM PST - 29 comments

the tile machine [note: shockwave]
posted by crunchland at 6:17 PM PST - 8 comments

As the Boston Red Sox are poised to head to the 2003 World Series in a final American League matchup (the first Game 7 featuring opposing Cy Young pitchers) featuring ex-Sox Roger Clemens (the only person to ever win 6 Cy Young Awards) against Pedrom Martinez (3 Cy Young's), I thought I would offer a brief glimpse into every Boston Fan's nightmares: The Curse. [More Horror Inside]
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:00 PM PST - 102 comments

This is one of my favorite miniature knitting sites. I am a very bad knitter, being only able to make long rectangles (a.k.a. scarves), so I'm constantly amazed at the people who do this and do it well. I think I'll stick to Hardanger.
posted by eilatan at 5:01 PM PST - 12 comments

Stu Hart passes away. Anyone who's been more than mildly interested in professional wrestling understands his contribution to the sport. He was father to Bret Hart and the late Owen Hart. He's trained more men than I care to begin to count.
posted by Lusy P Hur at 4:51 PM PST - 6 comments

R.U. Sirius, a cyberculture gadfly known for transhumanist techno-agitprop, has launched a new website about human evolution and nanotech, among other things.
posted by moonbird at 3:09 PM PST - 8 comments

Bush orders officials to stop the leaks. News of Bush's order leaked almost immediately. And speaking of leaks, two U.S. officials are the primary sources of information about Israel's Harpoon cruise missiles which may or may not be used to attack Iran.
posted by dejah420 at 2:16 PM PST - 25 comments

Modern day children-- they don't make 'em like they used to-- review classic gaming. Hilarity ensues.
posted by xmutex at 2:04 PM PST - 40 comments

Why was I still writing for these clowns? Charlie Stross wrote the Linux column in UK magazine 'Computer Shopper' for over sixty months, until a regime change started to impinge on his editorial freedom. The last straw came when he submitted a column regarding weblogging tools for the Linux platform only for it to be bounced because the tools weren't actually part of the operating system ... so he produced this column for himself and emailed his resignation. Part of his decision was based on declining quality and sales. Does anyone still actively buy computer magazines anymore? [thanks Sore Eyes]
posted by feelinglistless at 1:47 PM PST - 22 comments

How conservatives control the political debate: linguist George Lakoff (previously discussed here, here and here) examines how "frames" are used in political discourse. In a more recent article, he looks specifically at how Schwartzenegger's election was framed. But if that's all too boring, you can just make Arnold say what you want him to say [Flash.]
posted by homunculus at 11:53 AM PST - 25 comments

iTunes for Windows! iTunes for Windows! The new phonebook's here! The new phonebook's here!
posted by mathowie at 11:51 AM PST - 113 comments

The Last Jews of Libya.
posted by plep at 10:31 AM PST - 19 comments

VeriSign to Sell Network Solutions The Registry business that is the backbone of the global .com and .net domain name infrastructure currently handles over 10 billion interactions per day, remains with VeriSign as a critical component of its business. The customer-facing Registrar business is the world's leading provider of domain name registrations, and an industry leader in value added services such as business email, websites, hosting and other web presence services. The Registrar, which re-assumed the Network Solutions name in January of this year, constitutes the current Network Solutions business that is being sold. [emphasis added]
posted by quonsar at 10:06 AM PST - 14 comments

Coca culture (NYT) I am a cocalera. I owe my life to coca. My father died when I was 2 and my mother raised six children by growing coca. I was a farmer myself, growing coca for traditional purposes. But the United States says it is better for us to just forget about coca. In the early 1990's, Bolivian officials distributed American money — $300 to $2,500 per farm — and told us to try yucca and pineapples. But 60 pineapples earn us only about eight bolivianos (about $1). And unlike coca, yucca and pineapples are difficult to carry to the cities to sell, and they spoil. So many farmers returned to growing coca.
posted by magullo at 9:35 AM PST - 34 comments

Deb's Historical Research Page. This a ton of links found by a writer of romance fiction for her own reference. Most deal with recent British history and manners. Links vary in quality. Many are fascinating. Check out Boys' Dresses, Imperial Royal Playing Cards, or the discussion of an 18th Century English breakfast.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 9:18 AM PST - 7 comments

WarPhotoLTD.com is a Croatian photography showcase intended to "educate the public in the field of war photography, to expose the myth of war and the intoxication of war, to let people see war as it is, raw, venal, frightening, by focusing on how war inflicts injustices on innocents and combatants alike." Search by Photographer, War, Award or Collection, though the site is obviously new-ish and has a small database. Here's a particularly stunning one from their current collection ("A Decade of War").
posted by dhoyt at 8:20 AM PST - 3 comments

Top 10 data disasters The BBC report on a list of 10 data mishaps and asks for more. Some of the user submitted stories are too funny. So how did you lose yours?
posted by brettski at 6:34 AM PST - 36 comments

The Clinton death list meme, so popular right before the 2000 election, has the possibility to start for GWB. WaPo, Oct 5th; Bush Family Babysitter Killed in Fairfax . I'm just wondering how you get your own car to roll on top of you?

"Officer Courtney Young, a police spokeswoman, said Champagne had gone outside the house about 9 p.m. Monday, reportedly to retrieve something from her car. The vehicle had been in gear, police said, and appeared to have rolled in her direction when Champagne was in front of it."
posted by CrazyJub at 6:31 AM PST - 23 comments

Hatred via weblog. The Jewish Internet Association, a tax-exempt, non-profit California corporation, considers the Internet a battleground, where "every channel must be utilized to resist and convert others to our defense and support." A whois showed they have the same mailing address as palestinefacts.org. However, examining their weblog reveals an agenda that is every bit as hateful as Hamas.

From a recent entry: "The Palestinian Arabs go through a pretense of having a government" .... "This must end. In the past the only way such murderous, bastard regimes have ended was through massive destruction of their people and lands." .... "The same process will be required to end the fraudulant "peace process" and come to the point where there can be a new start."

The JIA site links to a guide for shutting down offensive websites. Do you think the same techniques would work against them too?
posted by insomnia_lj at 6:01 AM PST - 43 comments

The Rush to Recovery. Enjoy a little schadenfreude. Harry Shearer - Real Player.
posted by srboisvert at 4:53 AM PST - 22 comments

Since finding that Tongue In Chic was on CD at last, of late I've thought of the rhythm section nonpareil, Chic, with that welded groove between Nile Rodgers's guitar and Bernard Edwards's bass. As performers and producers--applying the patented Chic sound to an encyclopedia of superstars--what Chic played was a tight and transcendent penthouse funk. Now I find that Nile Rodgers has a homepage, too. The Links pages one and all are motherlodes of Chic-ism, let it be noted. Ah-h-h, Freak Out!
posted by y2karl at 12:28 AM PST - 19 comments