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What you talkin' about Willis? I'm talkin' about bitches and guns and kicking Vanilla Ice's ass so hard he's gonna look like Mr Drummond!
posted by skinsuit at 8:00 PM PST - 40 comments

America's greatest quadrapelegic, recovering alcoholic cartoonist has a home online. John Callahan may be the most hilariously truthful people alive. This page contains animated versions of some of his best. The collection of hate mail he's recieved is a hoot as well, if you enjoy laughing at the sanctimonious. This is one of his best and also the title of his excellent autobiography.
posted by jonmc at 7:21 PM PST - 20 comments

Either Proud To Be A Racist Or Sorry To Be A Racist; But A Racist All The Same... No, it's not easy being white. Here's an excellent article by Robert Jensen in Mighty Organ which identifies racism in its most well-meaning form: "Unlike Joe, who was hiding his weaknesses, I think Jim was hiding his strengths. Just as Joe needs to be accountable for his actions, so does Jim. Instead of saying "I am still a racist," it would be far more honest, and more courageous, for him to say, "I have worked hard to overcome much of the racism that this culture handed me. I think I have done a pretty good job. But precisely because of that fact, I have even more of a stake in having other folks - non-white and white - keep an eye on my behavior and hold me accountable." Right. Racism isn't all the same - but can one admit one's racism and not want to be a racist at the same time? Isn't this paternalism under a liberal guise? So, what is the balance between condescension, white guilt, political correctness and conscious racial prejudice?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:40 PM PST - 38 comments

Music City (makers of Morpheus) to relaunch Web site as a revenue-generating venue for new artists. Though this site will allow the user only so many test runs before purchase, the company's file-sharing technology still allows users to transfer other songs and files between each other free of charge.This will be part of the Morpheus upgrade, which is crappy so far.I need a new P2P.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 5:27 PM PST - 17 comments

Do you like roller coasters? I have a favorite myself.
Would you be confident enough to build your own roller coaster? (mirrors 1 ,2)
(via /.)
posted by patrickje at 4:12 PM PST - 16 comments

As someone with a shy bladder, I've always wanted one of these. Thanks for listening, it means a lot.
posted by luser at 2:54 PM PST - 21 comments

The US army selects MIT for $50 million superhuman exoskeleton project. Includes nanomaterials, invisibility, superhuman strength, protection from ballistics, and a built in kit for autonomous treatment. Will this be the soldier of the future?
posted by Aikido at 2:12 PM PST - 37 comments

"World's largest and most complete private collection of eyeglasses" Galleria Guglielmo Tabacchi in Padua, Italy, with objects dating back to " ..1285, when glasses were first created in Venice...". Check out Elton John's shades in Celebrities - he too belongs in the 13th century.
posted by Voyageman at 2:04 PM PST - 2 comments

Boom Selection is a music blog, focused on bootlegs. Not old Grateful Dead concerts, but DIY remixes and combinations, with tracks that pit Eminem against Britney, or Grandmaster Flash against Boards of Canada. Crazy stuff. bsx is a helpful filter that whittles it all down to must-listen boots and mixes.
posted by lbergstr at 12:13 PM PST - 13 comments

North Koreans would rather drink poison than return Refugees seek asylum at the Spanish embassy in China. "We are now at the point of such desperation and live in such fear of persecution within North Korea that we have come to the decision to risk our lives for freedom rather than passively await our doom," the group's statement said. "Some of us carry poison on our person to commit suicide if the Chinese authorities should choose once again to send us back to North Korea," the statement said.
posted by norm29 at 12:07 PM PST - 7 comments

Goliath lost. This and other pro-small billboards are popping up in downtown Atlanta. No doubt they have cousins (little ones, I'm sure) springing up in your cities. I couldn't believe my eyes, because the billboards seemed to be promoting the ever-so-British Mini Cooper.

The Mini is... well... just like it says, the veritable opposite of the stereotypical American SUV. Yes, it is the type of car Mr Bean would drive. But when you see them in their natural Anglo habitat, you can't help but notice they're just perfectly suited to zipping to and from wherever. The site lets you find a dealer, build your own Mini and save it for future reference. The catch is that you have to fill out an opt-in form, but with lines like this as part of your agreement, how could you resist?

"- I agree to chase squirrels around the park now and then and giggle like a madman while doing it."

Yeah. I want one. But will the American public?
posted by grabbingsand at 12:07 PM PST - 77 comments

Post-Country Heartache. A very down to earth interview with Paul Brill. Who doesn't seem jaded at all from the music industry. Still writing good music and playing shows. (from Sound the Sirens)
posted by lostbyanecho at 11:59 AM PST - 1 comments

SFMOMA appoints Neal Benezra as new director. Benezra was formerly the deputy director and curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Art Institute of Chicago, and replaces David Ross, who left the museum in a hurry last August to become chairman of the board of Eyestorm. During his tenure, Ross spent $140 million on acquisitions for the museum; Elaine McKeon, chairwoman of the Museum's board told the NYTimes that "We will still continue purchasing works of art, but we are going to move more slowly." Benezra has ties to Hunk and Moo Anderson, and wrote the catalog essay for the 2000 show of the Anderson collection. Could this mean that the Anderson collection will eventually be gifted to SFMOMA? (sfgate story, nytimes story)
posted by msippey at 10:51 AM PST - 4 comments

ATHEIST license plate too offensive for Florida. The state has declared one man's personalized license plate as too obscene or offensive after he's had it for 16 years. This from the same state where you can buy a "Choose Life" speciality tag, which I'm sure some people also find offensive.
posted by ahughey at 10:35 AM PST - 66 comments

Booklend is for those who love books but chafe at purchasing an unknown quantity and dislike the public library’s pesky practice of due dates and fines. MetaFilistine MarkAnd not only allows you to peruse his personal library, but will ship you the tome of your choice gratis and even sends a postage-paid envelope for you to return the book at your leisure. The NY Times jokingly refers to it as a "quixotic effort", but Mark’s library is bereft of Don Quixote. Perhaps you could donate this book, or others, to his library.
posted by Avogadro at 10:22 AM PST - 19 comments

DigitalConsumer.org is trying to get Congress to pass a six-point Consumer Technology Bill of Rights to protect the legitimate rights of honest consumers who buy copyrighted content legally. You can read about the issue and the group in Walt Mossberg's WSJ column.
posted by pmurray63 at 10:13 AM PST - 4 comments

Too many neighbors? Bioweapons can help solve that problem. Recently declassified documents say that one of Australia's leading scientists suggested just that in 1947.
posted by gimonca at 9:37 AM PST - 6 comments

Let him stay. Spend just one hour with the Loftons to understand why Florida's ban on gay adoption is wrong. This couple has taken in several HIV positive kids, but now that 14-year-old Bert, whom they have raised since infancy, tests HIV negative, the state of Florida considers him "adoptable" and is trying to find him a "suitable" (read heterosexual) adoptive family. Interested parties can send a letter to Florida officials in protest.
posted by whatnot at 9:31 AM PST - 46 comments

Ethical Coffee Are you likely to drink more coffee if it is more "ethical"? Do you buy into green marketing?
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy at 9:05 AM PST - 25 comments

Made for the Medium MSNBC's Brian Storm makes a case for a combination of news storytelling via photojournalism and audio that he feels is particularly well suited to the web. (via e-media tidbits)
posted by owillis at 8:48 AM PST - 8 comments

The Dark Carnival has called for these prophets, to release the all mighty presence of the Sixth Jokers Card! They have brought us all together for this purpose, for this moment…a beginning or an end, the clock tolls and has come full circle. A tear falls silently from the heavens above as a dark storm gathers on the horizon. A butterfly emerges in a land of shadows and death. Come to this Seminar to find out what it all means as the Insane Clown Posse will speak on such deep matters, reviling to the few who come, what is in store for the Juggalo family in these apparent climatic times.

Once a Day
posted by ejoey at 8:32 AM PST - 12 comments

Oil makes the world go round. The Senate yesterday defeated an effort to increase fuel efficiency standards for cars, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks by 50 percent over 13 years, voting instead for a measure backed by the auto industry.
posted by semmi at 8:15 AM PST - 39 comments

Domain Surfer is just plain cool. I mean... now I can see if a text string appears anywhere in a domain, and the results are clickable (note to the folks who do those awful WHOIS searches: I don't care who registered it, I care whether it's up-and-running!). Anyway, the link is via Rion.nu who, BTW, has some wonderful photographs of the Tribute of Light. And the link to the photographs came via David Gallagher... another fine photographer, not to be confused with that ijit from Oasis.
posted by silusGROK at 7:59 AM PST - 12 comments

Rainy Day Fun and Games For Toddler And Total Bastard. Web becomes print, as EOD can now be taken with you into the can.
posted by mikeg at 7:27 AM PST - 5 comments

"Rendition" is the State Department legal term for when they ship (its a lot like extradition minus due process ) Al Qaida/Taliban POWs to a friendly 3rd country such as Egypt or Jordan for questioning. "Why not just question them in Guantanamo" you ask? Thats because in some countries, interrogation is less regulated than it is on US soil. Neat, huh?
posted by BentPenguin at 6:35 AM PST - 52 comments

Put on your thinking caps... literally! How would you like to be able to put on a "thinking cap" to stimulate the the vast, unused, recesses of your mind at will? Such a thing may become a reality sooner rather than later. Welcome to the 21st century! Here is a much more in depth article, and of course the Centre for the Mind website.
posted by eclectic glamazon at 5:33 AM PST - 9 comments

The Left in America has lost its bearings An appraisal of what is pereceived as a decline in Left thinking from a Leftist writing for a fine journal specializing in socialistic critiques of America.
posted by Postroad at 4:33 AM PST - 63 comments

"They were weakening our morale, it was better for them to go." Thus spake one of our new allies, Afghan Commander Allah Mohammed, about U.S. soldiers in yesterday's Times article entitled "'Inadequate' U.S. troops pulled out of battleground". No doubt many will just call Commander Allah a low-down fluoridator and leave it at that. Sheesh, I mean, it's U.S. troops doing the fierce ground infighting over there, right? Er...well...but anyway...strangely, at least some U.S. troops "tactically reappraised" out the battle (as the U.S. military so aptly phrase-coined it) echo his judgment: "It was nothing like training at all," said Sgt. Michael Dickson, 21. "They were real bullets, and they were intended to hit you. It was scary at all times."

Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? Our young...Afghan young...always the young, learning about the reality of bullets, in our name.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 2:03 AM PST - 45 comments

Are people demonizing Islam to gain publicity? In an op-ed article in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle, Asma Hasan wrote that post 9/11, 'hating' Islam is getting 'intellectualized'. She wrote that those who are framing the debate in 'clash of civilization' terms are doing it mainly to gain publicity (or because they dont know better). Her ire was directed more towards Sullivan and Rushdie whose voices as she rightly pointed out carry greater weight than that of people like Buchanan or Graham.
I do see a lot more stuff on the the 'clash of civilization' theme now than I have seen before sept 11. Is it because people think and speak a lot more on this subject now and this is what they actually believe or has the subject been getting sensationalized over the last few months?
posted by justlooking at 2:02 AM PST - 11 comments

US President George W Bush said he did not recognise the outcome [of the Zimbabwe election] and that the election was "flawed". Whoa, Nelly! Where exactly are we with that Florida count these days?
posted by theplayethic at 1:26 AM PST - 22 comments