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Hi, folks! Billy Mays here for The Economics of Infomercials! [more inside]
posted by ApathyGirl at 10:58 PM PST - 30 comments

Laments for Blockbuster in the style of Bruce Springsteen. Another dying American industry mourned.
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 9:30 PM PST - 27 comments

Not content to simply riff on bad movies, Mike Nelson (formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and currently of Rifftrax) recently visited the Video Game Abomination folks and played a little "Miami Traffic 3".
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:17 PM PST - 33 comments

"This year of grace, 2013, sees the 150th anniversary of the London Underground Railway (tube). In honour of this occasion, we thought we would give you a little church crawl around the circle line...Over the coming weeks we will take you around each station on the Circular line and show you not only the station, but also a church and a place of interest, so that those of you who are impeded by distance or other reasons from seeing the delights that central London has to offer in the flesh may not be bereft of some of the experience." The Watts Church Crawl. [more inside]
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:35 PM PST - 2 comments

Loki's childhood, illustrated.
posted by Artw at 5:16 PM PST - 25 comments

Lewis Lehe created an interactive graphic that shows what happens when one driver brakes in traffic
posted by reenum at 4:44 PM PST - 65 comments

Richard Pryor is Black Death
posted by brundlefly at 3:45 PM PST - 23 comments

"Even from its earliest scenes Grizzly plays like a cheap B movie version of Jaws and that's really what it is." Somehow, Grizzly was actually released less than a year after Jaws was theatrically released. Unlike the quick turn-around for the first Grizzly movie, filming for the sequel didn't happen for another 7 to 9 years, and the movie was actually shelved before it was completed. Generally, the sequel to a knock-off wouldn't be too interesting, but Grizzly II: The Predator (also known as Predator: The Concert) is notable for early appearances of George Clooney, Charlie Sheen, and Laura Dern in small supporting roles, and the workprint features songs by Michael Jackson as a place-holder soundtrack. This existence of the workprint was a myth told by horror movie nerds, until a copy leaked out in 2007. As described in the Twitchfilm review, "there are two things to watch this footage for, and a grizzly bear is neither of them. Activity #1 would be the "Holy shit, that's actually {actor X} right there!" game ... and Activity #2 would be gaping, slack-jawed, with a pulsating vein in your forehead, as the outrageously awful mid-'80s synth tunes cascade across your unwitting cranium." For your viewing (dis)pleasure: Grizzly and Grizzly II: (The) Predator: The Concert, both in full on YouTube.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:42 PM PST - 11 comments

When you get a headache, you're faced with the Big Three options for over-the-counter pain relief: aspirin, acetaminophen (paracetamol) or ibuprofen. But which is best, according to the latest scientific evidence? And what's the best for toothache, back pain, period pain or musculoskeletal injuries? A pain specialist explains who the winners are in each main category.
posted by dontjumplarry at 3:05 PM PST - 93 comments

The Cambridge Union Society on YouTube: Brian Blessed, Bill Bryson, Dame Judi Dench, Lisa Kudrow, Sir Patrick Stewart [more inside]
posted by Lanark at 3:01 PM PST - 5 comments

Tiny weasel is adorable. (slYT & all the cute)
posted by Kitteh at 1:05 PM PST - 34 comments

A Galveston medical student describes life and death in the so-called safety net. [via]
posted by AceRock at 8:02 AM PST - 78 comments

Luxuria Superbia is a game about having sex with a flower, or maybe your computer. You are definitely having sex with something.
posted by frimble at 5:42 AM PST - 38 comments

"We've somehow been culturally talked into accepting this arrangement, not realizing how businesses are using it to further extract value from us. Businesses are choosing candidates based on their open source contributions, knowing that they are getting more value for less money out of them. These are candidates that will continue to work on things in their free time because it's something they care about and are passionate about. This is akin to not paying someone for overtime." -- Ashe Dryden talks about how unpaid work on open source projects may help sustain inequality and exploitation in the software industry.
posted by MartinWisse at 5:37 AM PST - 154 comments

Undercover journalists publish firsthand account of asylum seeker journey to Australia An undercover journalist has detailed how he and a photographer posed as asylum seekers and took an epic journey from Afghanistan's shady currency markets to Jakarta and on to a flimsy open-decked wooden boat that delivered 57 desperate people to Christmas Island.
posted by Wolof at 4:43 AM PST - 30 comments

"Take me to your [Sailor] Venus!"
Lady Gaga – Sailor Stars
Lady Gaga – Papercraft Roleplay Venus [more inside]
posted by fraula at 3:06 AM PST - 21 comments

Brass Tacks, a BBC documentary / studio discussion programme from 1977, looks at the burgeoning phenomena of punk rock. (SLYT)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:39 AM PST - 12 comments

Can common items sold in airports after the security screening be used to build lethal weapons? Yes.
posted by Zarkonnen at 1:44 AM PST - 57 comments