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Gang rape. Animal cruelty. Exploitation. Cannibalism. Put these elements together and you have Cannibal Holocaust, arguably one of the most well known exploitation films ever made. [Some of the following links are arguably NSFW]. Released in 1980, Cannibal Holocaust was a film so shockingly violent that it saw director Ruggero Deodato arrested by Italian authorities on the mistaken belief that he had made a snuff film and saw it being banned in almost every western country in the world for the actual deaths of several animals in the film. Although Deodato now regrets the introduction of the animals and although this ban has now been lifted in many of the countries that originally censored it, the horror of this landmark film is still as powerful as it ever was, a point evidenced by the often visceral reviews the film has garnered in its time. Whilst an official sequel has never been made (there have been at least two unofficial sequels), following his cameo appearance in Grindhouse movie Hostel II, Deodato has said an official sequel is in the works with an expected release date of 2009.
posted by Effigy2000 at 10:21 PM PST - 64 comments

The Design Disease "People with the disease will always choose books by their covers."
posted by dhruva at 8:30 PM PST - 91 comments

The 50 most underplayed and under-appreciated rap tracks according to ohword.com, all in one download. Some of my favorite hip-hop music blogs. For those who aren't hip-hop fans, an exhaustive list of MP3 blogs.
posted by rollbiz at 6:34 PM PST - 27 comments

Just Coffee is a vertically-integrated coffee cooperative with a mission to provide the training and resources to create a sustainable small-scale international coffee company fully owned and controlled by the coffee growers. Could they also provide a model solution for the immigration problem?
posted by carsonb at 5:37 PM PST - 17 comments

Jack's Big Music Show features Nuttin' But Stringz, an extremely talented duo featuring Damien and Tourie Escobar, Julliard-school violinists and brothers who kick out some amazing Hip-hop/R&B tracks. They're most recently featured as an interstitial musical performance on Jack's Big Music Show, my daughter's favorite show on Noggin, a cable channel from Nickelodeon aimed specifically at preschoolers. N.B.S joins other Jack's favorites like Laurie Berkner and the Flaming Lips (who tear up the dance floor with guest singer-songwriter Steve Burns, who you may or may not remember as Steve from Blue's Clues). You don't have to be a preschooler to enjoy the show or the music. N.B.S., in particular, were recently featured on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Ellen Show, as well as making an appearance at the Apollo Theater. Amazon has some listen links if you want to check them out. The track featured on Noggin is "Thunder".
posted by thanotopsis at 4:59 PM PST - 12 comments

Everybody loves Zombies. Everybody loves killing Zombies. Nobody wants to suddenly wake up surrounded by Zombies. Not when you thought you were just playing a video game.
posted by Elmore at 4:00 PM PST - 44 comments

Imagine you live in Portugal and you're moving into a lovely farm house on a large swath of land. The place has been empty for 15 years! While exploring your new property you find a large barn in the trees. The door is padlocked shut and its all rusted solid. so you grind the padlock open... [more inside]
posted by MegoSteve at 3:53 PM PST - 70 comments

There's about to be an election (pdf) in the British Parliament's second chamber, the House of Lords. Not an election where the public can choose their lawmakers: that's still a matter of debate. No, one of the 92 hereditary Lords has died, and those of his party colleagues that remain get to choose another hereditary peer to take his place. So the election, in which only hereditary peers registered as Conservatives can stand, will be decided by the votes of the 47 Conservative hereditary peers still clinging to the twig. And just to make sure it's properly democratic - the vote is by proportional representation.
posted by athenian at 2:49 PM PST - 40 comments

Nueva Cañcion: Starting in Chile in the 50's and spreading through Latin America through the 60's and 70's, Nueva Cañcion celebrated liberation movements, and took inspiration from indigenous folk music traditions as well as the international folk revival of the time. Listen to some audio examples and watch a few videos on youtube.
posted by serazin at 2:25 PM PST - 10 comments

Gillian McKeith banned from calling herself 'Dr'. Gillian McKeith, a "nutritionist" who has had several UK TV series, endless adverts for health supplements and sex pills, has for years used her title of Doctor to persuade people that she actually knows what she's talking about. Except now, thanks to the Advertising Standards Authority, she's no longer allowed to call herself a Doctor. I guess non-accredited correspondence-course PhDs and the membership of the American Association of Nutritional Consultants, something that a dead cat can be a member of for the princely sum of $60, doesn't actually mean much after all.
posted by TheDonF at 12:24 PM PST - 67 comments

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility. The Iraq war has transformed Walter Reed into "a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients." Meanwhile, despite predictions that the cost of medical care for veterans will skyrocket, the Bush administration apparently plans to cut funding for veterans' health care. Tired of waiting for the government, more people are taking the initiative in developing alternative facilities to help veterans.
posted by homunculus at 12:23 PM PST - 88 comments

White-o-glyphics. The idea: "If we took all the common graphic symbols floating around nowadays, would we have enough to make a viable hieroglyphic language? Would it be possible to translate Finnegan's Wake or Moby Dick entirely into dingbats, whim-whams and clip art?" Matthew White makes the effort to find out.
posted by Kattullus at 11:51 AM PST - 25 comments

Waffle House Family and other classics are now available for listening in the comfort of your own home via online jukebox. No longer must you drive the darkness of the American Highway seeking that 24-hour beacon of yellow squares; no longer suck your sweet tea from the straw as you seek out original Waffle House tunes while waiting for your hash browns (scattered, smothered, and covered, of course) to arrive. Mary Welch Rogers, wife of House founder Joe Rogers, is one of several artists who recorded Waffle House-themed songs for the fast-food chain's jukeboxes. Most were penned by Buckner and Garcia of Pac Man Fever. While you're at it, visit the shrine, and enjoy David Wilcox's song about feel the peace that's cooked in grease.
posted by Miko at 11:45 AM PST - 15 comments

Mr. Deity!
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:26 AM PST - 11 comments

It's been a rough first two years for new William and Mary president Gene Nichol. First, he reluctantly let go of a beloved logo. Then, he removed a cross from a chapel in America's oldest academic building. Some students and alumni revolted. One threatened to sue, others withheld donations. Nichol backtracked slightly, but to no avail. Outsiders weighed in. Dinesh D'Souza (previously on MeFi) came to campus to debate. Some students support Nichol and are tired of outside attacks. Maybe it wasn't the best timing for W&M to host the Sex Workers Art Show: conservatives are pissed.
posted by naoko at 10:15 AM PST - 49 comments

Baztab, an alternative Iranian news wesbite from Tehran, (feed) was launched last month. But last week, it defied Ahmadinejad's government's order to shut down its service.
posted by hoder at 9:46 AM PST - 13 comments

"Up to about age 2, people can consistently regrow fingertips...." If you're older, try extract of pig-bladder. Or, if you don't mind the lupus, a Heber-Katz's Murphy Roths Large.
posted by orthogonality at 9:33 AM PST - 11 comments

Marjoe Gortner, world's youngest preacher kicked off his religious career by performing a marriage at the age of four and a half. Although he eventually left the evangelism gig and became a hippie, lack of cash led him to take it up again part time as an adult. That is, until a crisis of conscience precipitated a documentary where he exposed the business of evangelical ministry. "Marjoe" won the 1972 Oscar for "Best Documentary" and has been recently re-released. An interview with Marjoe. You tubery inside.
posted by arcticwoman at 8:58 AM PST - 19 comments

Are Africans Black? The population of African immigrants in the United States is rapidly growing. Since 1990, about 50,000 Africans have come to the United States annually, more than in any of the peak years of the international slave trade, which was abolished in 1807. They add to the steady influx of black immigrants from other continents and the Caribbean, and those who have been in the United States for generations but who don't racially and culturally define themselves as African American. These blacks feel cramped by the narrowness of American racial politics, in which "blackness" has not just defined one's skin color but has served as a code word for African American.
Maybe Not. After all, Obama's mother is of white U.S. stock. His father is a black Kenyan. Other than color, Obama did not - does not - share a heritage with the majority of black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves.... when black Americans refer to Obama as "one of us," I do not know what they are talking about. In his new book, "The Audacity of Hope," Obama makes it clear that, while he has experienced some light versions of typical racial stereotypes, he cannot claim those problems as his own - nor has he lived the life of a black American.
posted by jfuller at 7:59 AM PST - 161 comments

Introducing.... the Book.
posted by drhydro at 6:58 AM PST - 14 comments

Hot dog joint hit with foie gras fine. The City of Chicago Health Department has issued a citation to a Northwest Side eatery (Hot Doug's, all all places!) for serving foie gras in voilation of the city ban. “People are actually dying from the cold, and I’m getting hassled because of some sausage,” owner Doug Sohn said Friday afternoon...
posted by Durwood at 6:20 AM PST - 70 comments

Luigi Colani, Biomorphic Designer — This prolific master of plastic has been creating organically streamlined planes, trains, automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, ships, cities, homes, computers, cameras, televisions, furniture, pianos, ceramics, shoes, eyewear^PDF, pens, airbrushes, and other wonderful stuff (including the kitchen sink) for some 60 years. Wherever you need to go, you can reach your final destination in Colani style. More designs here, here, here, and here. [Brits and touristas take note: London's Design Museum will host a Colani exhibition, Translating Nature, from March 3 to June 17, 2007. Bibliophiles can check out the book Colani: The Art of Shaping the Future.]
posted by cenoxo at 1:04 AM PST - 15 comments