November 26, 2001

Finally a reason to be proud you're a an atheist lefty.

Finally a reason to be proud you're a an atheist lefty. There perhaps, isn't a publication more vapid than Focus on the Family's hip christian, college age marketed offshoot "Boundless". In this treasure, the author trashes the intellectual individualism his conservative ideology doesn't afford him. Don't miss the wonderful blurb on the left sidebar which reads: ROTC recruiters never tire of citing the army's desperate need for the kinds of bright minds and "independent thinkers" needed in today's mobile, high-tech military; and yet many of the most promising candidates remain all but off limits to them. I'm glad I'm from another planet. Obviously.
posted by crasspastor at 10:35 PM PST - 79 comments

Little Marcy

Little Marcy was one-half of a Christian ventriloquist's act, but I wouldn't be surprised if her creepy grin and high-pitched singing were responsible for frightening more kids into becoming atheists than converts.
posted by MrBaliHai at 8:25 PM PST - 8 comments

Giddyup Big Boy.

Giddyup Big Boy. Is this guy hot to trot or should he just be put out to pasture? Personally, I find HBO's Real Sex to be a real waste of time. That and the sight of this stud in his little leather gear is, well, it's just downright disturbing.
posted by MAYORBOB at 6:22 PM PST - 30 comments

"Do you want to know how to eliminate terrorism?"

"Do you want to know how to eliminate terrorism?" Hint: love is all you need.
posted by xowie at 4:18 PM PST - 20 comments

The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year in America. False. This and many other popular xmas legends debunked at snopes (also notable: Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer created by the Montgomery Ward store chain).
posted by mathowie at 4:16 PM PST - 11 comments

Snoop Dogg will save Cadillac

Snoop Dogg will save Cadillac Want proof: I don't care how much it costs, I don't know what it looks like, but I want one and I have begun saving up already for the Snoop Deville. Hopefully bulletproof windows and roach-clip are standard.
posted by tsarfan at 3:48 PM PST - 44 comments

Why Don't Prosecutors Want to Let Her Go?

Why Don't Prosecutors Want to Let Her Go? An interesting article from Texas Monthly about journalist Vanessa Leggett, currently clocking record-setting jail time for refusing to turn over names of her sources. The article speculates on the rationale for the prosecution's hard line. (via Romenesko)
posted by BT at 2:07 PM PST - 13 comments

Has anyone read "Swimming Across" by Andy Grove?

Has anyone read "Swimming Across" by Andy Grove? It appears to be pretty far from the traditional "look-at-me, revel in my vision, I'm an uber-CEO," self-promotional book; he never even gets into his Intel career, apparently. Instead it's an account of Grove's childhood in Hitler and Stalin's Hungary and the story of how he came to America. The book has been getting great reviews, from people as diverse as Tom Brokaw, Elie Wiesel and Monica Seles. Still, the cynic in me says that no matter how dramatic the tale, when you're a Fotune 500 CEO, you always have other motives. Perhaps I'm just too cynical. So again, has anyone read it? What did you think?
posted by emptyage at 1:16 PM PST - 3 comments

Gay suicide rates exaggerated, study says.

Gay suicide rates exaggerated, study says. Cornell psychologist Ritch Savin-Williams says gay teens are only slightly more likely than straight teens to attempt suicide.
posted by adrober at 12:14 PM PST - 12 comments

The most eagerly awaited movie review of the year

The most eagerly awaited movie review of the year The ChildCare Action Project reviews Harry Potter.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 11:00 AM PST - 62 comments

"Hello, world!" in 114 programming languages.

"Hello, world!" in 114 programming languages. Whenever picking up a new language, it's customary to write a program that prints "Hello, world!" to see how one goes about writing anything in said language. Now you never need be curious about what language to write your custom-designed CMS in.
posted by moz at 10:48 AM PST - 19 comments

Narco corridos ("drug ballads")

Narco corridos ("drug ballads"), the modern variant of the traditional Mexican corrido, are often likened to gangsta rap-- the songs tend to glorify drug traffickers, the most famous performers are mysteriously murdered, and Mexican radio stations have banned them entirely, hoping to curb drug-related violence. (And while I must sheepishly admit that I hadn't even heard of them until I heard this segment--an interview with Elijah Wald[RA link] on NPR last week, I'm now obsessed.)
posted by cowboy_sally at 10:24 AM PST - 9 comments

The Age: The perils and joys of fleadom

The Age: The perils and joys of fleadom
(where flea=independent businessperson).
"Sadly, Handy says, a world of fleas and small organisations has led to a more selfish society ... 'What we need particularly is somewhere for the unhappy fleas to belong to.'"
So, for all those people who will be unsuccessful in business, and join the have-nots instead of the haves... what could they possibly belong to that would make things allright?
posted by kv at 9:22 AM PST - 4 comments

Unknowingly sending all your personal finance information through the servers of a sleazy ad service: Priceless. Do you pay your AMEX bill online at americanexpress.com? If you do, you should know that you're being ported through the ad.doubleclick.net advertising service. Mouse over the links on the AMEX homepage and see. All your information travels through doubleclick's servers on its way to AMEX. Nice, huh?
posted by jpoulos at 8:49 AM PST - 13 comments

Did Google go too far

Did Google go too far when they added a new tool to their website, or are webmasters to blame for lax security?
posted by machaus at 7:51 AM PST - 21 comments

The Deconstruction of The World Trade Center

The Deconstruction of The World Trade Center An analysis of the Right versus the Left in ways that 911 and other events are interpreted and understood. Take your choice.
posted by Postroad at 7:36 AM PST - 14 comments

Recession? What recession?

Recession? What recession? "An economic research group declared Monday that the United States has been in a recession since March of this year." It's official.
posted by shoepal at 7:08 AM PST - 7 comments

The National Weather Service's new wind-chill scale

The National Weather Service's new wind-chill scale has ruffled some feathers. The new formula is slightly more complicated than the one we've been using since 1945. It's also different from the Real-Feel Temperature Index, the one proposed in 1999 by Accu-Weather, the World's Weather Authority[TM]. Accu-Weather is cranky: they say the new formula is confusing, that change is confusing, and that private businesses are better able to make these decisions.

Who takes it? Whose chill-factor formula reigns supreme?
posted by gleuschk at 6:25 AM PST - 30 comments

From Dismal Science To Joyful Art

A classic economist would tell you MetaFilter ain’t worth the server it’s hosted on. He’d say it has negative worth, since maintenance probably costs more than the gains. In classic economic terms, then, MetaFilter is not worth having around and might as well be shut down. Readers might object to that — the benefits they recieve are both intangible (information) and immeasurable (community). “The information era, with its economy of multiplication, will have more experience with and give more attention to positive sum games — if you gain, I'll gain too through feedback loops.” Time to update the Dismal Science.
posted by raaka at 5:19 AM PST - 22 comments

BBC Panorama exposes far right group

BBC Panorama exposes far right group and hosts a detailed website, that gives chapter and verse. well, that the BNP are a bunch of nazi's is no real expose, but as someone who fought against these fools in the 70's and 80's, we need to remain vigilant
posted by quarsan at 4:40 AM PST - 4 comments

Naughty Children to Be Registered as Potential Criminals in the UK

Naughty Children to Be Registered as Potential Criminals in the UK UK police are to set up a secret database of children as young as three who they fear might grow up to become criminals. What next, DNA testing on embryos to find out if they have a genetic leaning towards criminal behaviour? Link courtesy of Backwash.
posted by Jubey at 3:06 AM PST - 14 comments

R2-D2 Beneath the Dome

R2-D2 Beneath the Dome is cute, funny, silly and the most despicable ploy to hype a movie ever in the history of cinema. Most importantly, it diminishes the stature of a great man, by failing to mention Kenny Baker's contribution to the successful phenomenon. It's like talking about Indiana Jones "behind the scenes" without mentioning Harrison Ford.
posted by ZachsMind at 12:10 AM PST - 20 comments

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