May 14, 2008
What a bunch of quack.
"This listing will not stop global climate change"
“I can’t express how extremely disappointed I am that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has chosen to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act," Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski said in a statement issued today. [more inside]
The Day There Was No News
The Day There Was No News is moving in its simplicity. The music is from Ben Frost's Theory of Machines, which is pretty good in its own right.
Womb Quake
Womb Quake! Follow along as mefi's-own gomichild drops her bundle, live via satellite!*[via mefi projects] [more inside]
Tyranny in Two Dimensions
How to land at the Martian north pole.
Seven minutes of terror. A short video on describing how the Phoenix probe will land at the North Pole of Mars on May 25th. Follow updates to the mission via Twitter and the blog. Previously
Absolutely Not.
“I would say ‘No, Hillary.’" The 97 U.S. Senators who are not currently running for President reply to the question: “If you were asked, would you accept an offer to be the VP nominee?”
Dust to Dust
Buried in a beer can. As an appealing bonus, the coffin doubles as a beer cooler before it's needed for the stiff. With baby boomers getting ready to pop their clogs, many are looking to alternative ways to recycle their remains. A book and radio interview on green burials and some interesting figures on the quantities of wood, steel, copper, bronze and embalming fluid buried each year in the US in conventional funerals.
Anonymous American in Rangoon
A week in Burma after the storm is the second of two anonymous eyewitness reports at danwei.org of the impact and aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. It is the most gripping and tremendously sad report I have read yet on the human tragedy that is Nargis and the Myanmar Junta's non-response. [more inside]
Spongebob Rectal Thermometer
Best rectal thermometer ever? And yes, it does play the theme song while taking your temperature.
What am I, chopped liver?
Geese are on the run once again in Chicago, as the City Council overturns its recent ban on foie gras, which had been prompted in part by prodding from animal rights activists. Many chefs (although not all) were furious when the ban was enacted, missing the "exquisite taste, silky texture." They had threatened civil disobedience and even filed a lawsuit. And now epicurians as well as Jewish grandmothers rejoice.
LOL Manuscripts!
Keeping the meme alive, lolmanuscripts. Except they're really lolwoodcuts. Whatever.
More than just a sore taint?
Does riding a bike really help the environment? Mr. Green at the Sierra Club says don't over think it, but a couple of folks trying to measure the energy cycling uses aren't quite sure. There are plenty of excuses for not to riding your bike, but is there a rationale? If you want a go at calculating this yourself, here's a handy guide to the variables. [more inside]
The Essential Man's Library
100 Must-Read Books (for dudes) Men just have different ... needs ... than women, so apparently they need to read different books as well. However (as a chick myself) I tend to check this sort of thing out in a futile but ongoing attempt to figure out men. Hmmph. Men. Go figure ....
Oakley Hall (1920-2008)
Novelist Oakley Hall, most famous for the western Warlock, has died at the age of 87.
Here's a review of Warlock by Thomas Pynchon, a huge fan of the book.
Mulder's Big Adventure, aka Chris Carter presents: The Pointing-At-Each-Other Files, aka OMG ITS ALIENS
Mulder's Big Adventure is an exercise in awesomeness by Metafilter members Secretariat and Cortex. Join them as they endeavor to riff on all 202 episodes of The X-Files. To refresh your memory of the series, you can watch the original episodes here. [via mefi projects]
"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses"
Cassette from My Ex
Cassette from My Ex is a project to "share the stories and the soundtrack to your earliest loves." Also features a great entry from Claudia Gonson of Magnetic Fields.
1024 Cheerleaders
1024 Cheerleaders! See what your favorite 32*32 icon would look like at a football game.
Now, Get Off of My Lawn!
Emory University English Professor Mark Bauerlein's new book, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future posits that "[t]he dawn of the digital age once aroused our hopes: the Internet, e-mail, blogs, and interactive and ultra-realistic video games promised to yield a generation of sharper, more aware, and intellectually sophisticated children....we assumed that teens would use their know-how and understanding of technology to form the vanguard of this new, hyper-informed era. That was the promise. But the enlightenment didn’t happen. The technology that was supposed to make young adults more astute, diversify their tastes, and improve their minds had the opposite effect." Some beg to differ. An interview with Mark Bauerlein; Bauerlein on CBS News. [more inside]
Are the seams in your hose often crooked?
Ladies, before you go searching for love from one of those online matchmaking sites, be sure to tally up your merits and demerits on this Marital Rating Scale.
Non-lethal injections
The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country [more inside]
Zed's zero carbon, baby: hydrogen-cell motorbikes
Google Maps now integrates with Wikipedia
Google Maps now integrates with Wikipedia (click "More" tab). Concharto is a geographic wiki for documenting historical events. Flick also has a map service.
Just One of Our Submarines
Thomas Dolby builds up his songs before your eyes layer by layer in a podcast. Leipzig is Calling. One of Our Submarines. I Live in a Suitcase. Flying North. She Blinded Me with Science. Hyperactive.
Grand Theft Auto IV graphical comparison with real life
“I went into teaching full of belief and idealism... After five years I realised that there was no place for idealism in teaching"
George Plemper's extensive photographic record of south London working-class life from the 70s and early 80s, in particular children at Riverside school Thamesmead, was left hidden away in carrier bags for three decades. Now he's put it on Flicker
Living large.
British artist Lucian Freud's painting of a rather... portly slumbering nude just set an art world record. Someone laid down a nice, fat 33.6 million dollars for it: the most money ever paid for any work by a living artist. [more inside]
Because It Is There
PBS's Frontline has just released Storm Over Everest, a new report that chronicles the 1996 Everest disaster. The story was most notably told by Jon Krakauer in his award-winning book Into Thin Air, which ignited a flurry of letters (pun definitely intended) about the roles of guides and Sherpas on the mountain.
Home for Sale: 100 Dollars, 500 Words
The $100 House Essay Contest. Write a 500 word essay on why you deserve to win the house. Submit it to James Mathias, along with $100. If he receives 2,500 entries... a winner will be chosen and awarded the home. If enough entries aren't received, he'll return the money. Finally, a chance to get that dream home in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Or... an extra $179,900.
Ladies in Waiting...
Before the advent of Cellular phones and the internet, cities around the world were entwined with a series of webs hanging precariously overhead. Their function: to relay messages from one part of town to the next. And the pioneers who were put in charge of this arduous task--the Switchboard Operators. The first choice for this new source of employment was a disappointing failure, not surprisingly, but then a new breed of worker emerged on the scene. These hardworking individuals were the epitome of good behaviour and gritty determination. Patient and understanding, they were always expected to fulfill their tasks, no matter what the cost. And, to their credit--they are still remembered today for the unique place they held in some peoples hearts.
Technological Darwinism
The Evolution of Computer & Video Games (Google video) The Evolution of Computer Commercials (video) The evolution of mobile phones (video)
Conjuror or Barbarian?
Monster's Den: Book of Dread might be the best free dungeon crawl RPG on the web. If it ain't, it's damned close. [more inside]
Unbelievable, Fantastic and Odd
The UK Ministry of Defence has just released previously classified documents detailing numerous UFO sightings and alien contacts from across the country. Report yours at UFO Watch.
The Alien is my Brother
Vatican's chief astronomer states that belief in alien life does not conradict faith in God. Fr. José Gabriel Funes, a Jesuit preist and chief astronomer for the Vatican, stated in an interview in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's official newspaper, that, "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation." [more inside]
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