November 12, 2007

A Crack in the War on Drugs

The US Sentencing Commission has recommended that Federal sentencing guidelines be reduced for crimes involving crack cocaine -- and is now deliberating making the new guidelines retroactive for prisoners already incarcerated. [WaPo] If taken into effect, about 3,800 inmates could be released by this time next year. [more inside]
posted by Avenger at 11:31 PM PST - 29 comments

2012: Stories From the Near Future

The inaugural New Yorker Conference, “2012: Stories From the Near Future,” took place on May 6 and 7, 2007. Here is an archive of videos from the event.
posted by parudox at 11:26 PM PST - 10 comments

Solanum virus outbreak in Ancient Egypt

Zombie Attack at Hierakonpolis
posted by felix betachat at 10:48 PM PST - 29 comments

Zatch Gaspafanasky

Zach Galifianakis Live at The Purple Onion His NSFW Magnum Opus
Google Video (scammed offa Netflix) 1 hour, 1 minute.
Hate his drunken belching voice? Try You Bring Me Joy, It's Not About Love, or Can't Tell Me Nothing. Hate him still? You may be a preschooler.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:30 PM PST - 25 comments

The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.

Thirty years of George Carlin specials. (Yep, NSFW. Duh.) [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster at 8:01 PM PST - 49 comments

The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

The manga series "Death Note." The first volume. The adapted anime series, newly arrived on Adult Swim. The Japanese movie trailer. Spoilers: Possible origins. The early press. Interviews with writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. The controversy. The collectibles. The online Death Note. The last volume, finally released in the US and reviewed.
posted by Soup at 7:55 PM PST - 13 comments

Columbidae Love

The Brooklyn Pigeon Serial Killer vs The Brooklyn Pigeon Advocate. Related to The Brooklyn Pigeon Blowdart Attacks of '98?
posted by R. Mutt at 5:57 PM PST - 24 comments

A terrible waste

The Greater Internet F***wad theory is funny, right? Wrong.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 5:00 PM PST - 278 comments

map paintings

Map Paintings by Paula Scher: “These are absolutely, one hundred percent inaccurate,” Paula Scher declares of her colossal map paintings. Then, after a pause: “But not on purpose.” Another pause: they’re actually “sort of right.” [via]
posted by dhruva at 4:58 PM PST - 10 comments

Crafty Cartography

Lost? Why not consult a map? Because, according to a past exhibit at the British Library, the mapmaker might have a political agenda.
posted by Rykey at 4:36 PM PST - 14 comments

Just don't tell Podhoretz...

HEMA (Hollandse Eenheidsprijzen Maatschapij Amsterdam) is a quintessentially Dutch department store chain, specialised in selling unbranded no-nonsense goods at low prices. It is also known for its whimsical (previously) advertising and strong corporate identity. The art collective Mediamatic decided to have a few multicultural laughs by launching "El Hema", an Arabic/Muslim version of the Dutch classic. [more inside]
posted by Skeptic at 2:38 PM PST - 13 comments

Delmar

In October, Vladimir Putin posthumously awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation to George Koval, who, using the code name Delmar, successfully penetrated the Manhattan Project as an agent for the Soviet Union. But, he wasn't the only one. Some think the award is just a disinformation campaign orchestrated by the Russians.
posted by Xurando at 2:31 PM PST - 15 comments

"It is a private world that continues to grow."

Elena Dorfman's photos of RealDolls have been mentioned in the blue before. In her latest project, Re-Anime: Photographs of Fandom, Dorfman explores the world of cosplay.
posted by beaucoupkevin at 2:15 PM PST - 42 comments

Black breastfeeding. From the 'stuff you don't think about' dept.

"I am on a near-daily treasure hunt of sorts. I scour our American past to help understand modern breastfeeding..." The Black Breastfeeding Blog, with photographs and history.
posted by kmennie at 1:03 PM PST - 43 comments

Hot space bot uses stirling engine

NASA proposes using a Stirling cooler (essentially a Stirling engine in reverse) to keep a probe cool on the surface of Venus, which has had a tendency to melt or smash previous probes. The cooler would maintain a 25cm sphere within the probe at 200°C -- 100°C above the boiling point of water but sufficiently cool for a high-temperature microcontroller to operate. The waste heat radiators on the exterior of the sphere would reach the temperature of 500°C, 40°C above the the normal Venusian surface temperature.
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM PST - 40 comments

A modern day O Henry story

It was the early 90s and the World Wildlife Federation was trying to save the rhino. They offered up Saiga horn as an alternative to rhino horns for use in Chinese apothecary shops, thinking that the millions-strong population of Saiga on the steppes of Central Asia would buffer the demand for rhinos. The result is one of the most devastating population crashes for a large mammal species in modern times. There is now a fear that the Saiga will become extinct in the next few years.
posted by hindmost at 10:09 AM PST - 42 comments

Cyclops!!

Cyclops! A fun little comic to make your Monday better.
From Flight Issue 4 and Israel Sanchez (another comic; some illustrations)
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 9:53 AM PST - 19 comments

Bleed for Public Safety.

Bleed for Public Safety.
posted by Tacos Are Pretty Great at 9:03 AM PST - 54 comments

Have a Bowl of Cereal, Make a Bowl of Gut Chutney.

The latest All-Bran commercial really pushes out the product's virtues, although not without making a stink. Personally, I still prefer a heaping bowl of Colon Blow.
posted by brain_drain at 9:02 AM PST - 53 comments

Free books, but not just any free books

Munseys, formerly Blackmask, still my favorite free book site.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 8:04 AM PST - 7 comments

Six Great Apples

Think the Osmond Brothers didn't rock? Think again. "In spite of their squeaky clean image, the Osmonds had a soulful, sometimes raucous sound which was a precursor of the power pop of later years." Color my preconceived notions shattered.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:04 AM PST - 89 comments

Zigzag Zombie

Zigzag Zombie.

As part of the recent Dutch Design Week, students were instructed to produce an original typeset using thin, flat material (metal strips, tape, toilet paper, etc.) and then "pick one location, and create a large scale zigzag lettering and make passersby hallucinate."
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 6:56 AM PST - 16 comments

I'm gonna get on my knees and pray, we don't get fooled again.

Clinton in planted questions row. The US presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, has criticised her aides after she was accused of taking pre-arranged questions at a rally in Iowa. A case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss?
posted by Tommy Gnosis at 6:45 AM PST - 74 comments

Give 1 Get 1

One Laptop Per Child - Give 1, Get 1 Started by Nicholas Negroponte, the One Laptop Per Child project aims to put inexpensive durable laptops into the hands of millions of children in developing countries with the idea that the best weapon against poverty is education. For a limited time, people in the US can buy an OLPC laptop for themselves, and send one to a child in a developing country for $399 via the Give One, Get One program.
posted by Laen at 6:06 AM PST - 80 comments

Lost Places in Japan

Lost Places in Japan
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:31 AM PST - 30 comments

An update on the 'Marlboro Marine'

Photo-Essay on the Marlboro Marine and PTSD. An update on this story: 1, 2.
posted by salvia at 12:18 AM PST - 35 comments

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