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STEP 1 Buy 100 pieces of crap from thrift stores and garage sales.
STEP 2 Get 100 authors to write a fiction about pieces of crap.
STEP 3 ???
STEP 4 Profit!
Significant Objects hosts the stories for all 100 pieces of crap/art, but the last six are still available for bidding: Blue Vase by Lauren Mechling, Umbrella Trinket by Bruce Holland Rogers, Lighter Shaped Like a Small Pool Ball by Rob Agredo, Bar Mitzvah Bookends by Stacey Levine, Geisha Bobblehead by Edward "ed" Champion, and Missouri Shotglass by Jonathan Lethem.
posted by carsonb at 10:28 PM PST - 12 comments

I have no idea what you're talking about, so here's a French magneto-lamp.
posted by boo_radley at 9:43 PM PST - 30 comments

Singer, beatboxer, electric ukelele player Merrill Garbus says "It was about a woman selling her child to the butcher," referring to her puppet show that led to her first written songs. Her one-woman band Tune-Yards (24:59 video) is like Imogen Heap's live performing, mixed with some Phoebe Snow and Nina Simone. [more inside]
posted by cashman at 6:54 PM PST - 9 comments

It's snowing in China. Who's responsible? [more inside]
posted by up in the old hotel at 5:59 PM PST - 25 comments

In 2010, Obama will have a miserable year, NATO may lose in Afghanistan, the UK gets a regime change, China needs to chill, India's factories will overtake its farms, Europe risks becoming an irrelevant museum, the stimulus will need an exit strategy, the G20 will see a challenge from the "G2", African football will unite Korea, conflict over natural resources will grow, Sarkozy will be unloved and unrivalled, the kids will come together to solve the world's problems (because their elders are unable), technology will grow ever more ubiquitous, we'll all charge our phones via USB, MBAs will be uncool, the Space Shuttle will be put to rest, and Somalia will be the worst country in the world. And so the Tens begin.

The Economist: The World in 2010. [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:09 PM PST - 60 comments

Belle de Jour reveals herself. She's Dr Brooke Magnanti. She's real and once wrote this column about autopsies.
posted by feelinglistless at 4:51 PM PST - 76 comments

NASA's Fluxtimator helps calculate the meteor shower activity in your area. There will be one of the biggest meteor shower events of our lifetime, the Leonid Meteor shower of 2009. Start time: this Monday November 16, 2009 at 11:00pm EST. End Time: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 4:00am EST (best 2am to 4 am EST). An Atomic Age song in mp3 to celebrate: What Is A Shooting Star. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 4:34 PM PST - 18 comments

One time, OK, see, one time Randy Beaman's [aunt, uncle, sister, little brother, best friend who's name is Linda, cat] [had like this bean dip for the chips, had a dream she ate a big marshmallow, ate some cornflakes, had to take baths with his brother] and [Jason made this gross noise, this was in Kansas, he thought it wasn't Dracula] and [they were in there so long they became skeleton people]. [AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH] (clips from Animaniacs, big youtube playlist of them all here.)
posted by The Devil Tesla at 4:07 PM PST - 26 comments

Newmoticons: Fresh new emoticons for happy internet people.
posted by The Whelk at 3:48 PM PST - 80 comments

NPR's jazz blog A Blog Supreme recently concluded a series in which they asked jazz bloggers to "name five albums you would recommend to somebody looking to get into modern jazz". The results are now up in the category Jazz Now; the intro has the index, including reactions elsewhere. Destination: Out had some pricklier suggestions—see also their best of the 90s list (and their own nominations). [more inside]
posted by kenko at 2:42 PM PST - 40 comments

NSFW - A gallery of the world's Ugliest Tattoos. [via FAIL Blog]
posted by not_on_display at 1:54 PM PST - 97 comments

Krautrock - the movie [more inside]
posted by philip-random at 1:37 PM PST - 20 comments

Robert McKee’s Unconvincing Story
posted by Artw at 9:26 AM PST - 78 comments

A Poem by Stephen King The poem is stored by Playboy.com so NSFW. Also, body horror and vernacular involved.
posted by Sparx at 3:16 AM PST - 95 comments