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Easycinema - Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of the European no-frills airline Easyjet, is planning to open Easycinema, the first of what he hopes to be a no-frills theater chain, in Britain (the London suburb of Milton Keynes) on Friday. All ticket buying will be conducted on the Internet (there will be no box office at the theater); tickets must be printed out at home; early buyers can purchase tickets for as little as $.35, while tickets purchased on the day of the screenings will cost $8.00; there will be no concession counter, no trailers, no ads. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Easycinema claimed that movie distributors representing the majors have balked at providing new releases or even quality second-runs.
posted by suprfli at 11:13 PM PST - 31 comments

Big Plans. Little Brains. Mike Clattenburg's Trailer Park Boys could soon be more than just a Canadian phenomenon. The mockumentary began as a film, was adapted into a TV series and has been airing for three seasons on Showcase in Canada (not to be confused with this). Ricky, Julian and Bubbles even joined Our Lady Peace during its Fear of the Trailer Park Tour last summer (soon to be documented on CD and DVD) and could be seen alongside Don Cherry in The Tragically Hip's video for "The Darkest One" (a look behind the scenes - qt version). Bubbles even appeared in that informer guy's video for "Legal" and has been writing music reviews in character. (TPB was mentioned briefly here and here.)
posted by boost ventilator at 9:19 PM PST - 14 comments

160 million people watched the gloriously kitsch Eurovision Song Contest this year. The UK's entry [Real] scored an astonishing nul points (i.e. none of the other 25 countries thought the British song was in the top 10 competitors). The singers blame the country's worst ever result on sabotage. What do you think?
posted by Pretty_Generic at 7:49 PM PST - 37 comments

Other People's Stories: "These stories have been overheard and misheard, told and re-told and sometimes refined over time. They do not shy from hearsay, gossip, myth or guys we knew in high school." Some of the stories are funny (warning: NSFW picture on that link), others sad, scary, and some just bizarre.
posted by eclectica at 6:35 PM PST - 14 comments

Asshat, the best word ever. Of course, a post about asshats couldn't be complete without an example.
posted by thebabelfish at 6:15 PM PST - 57 comments

Proof that metaFilter is evil!
posted by timeistight at 4:01 PM PST - 27 comments

The No Logs Network is encouraging web hosts and system admins to refrain from keeping site access logs, saying their storage can constitute a threat to free speech. It sounds like a good idea, but considering how paranoid many system admins tend to be, one has to wonder whether it could ever really take off as a movement.
posted by mrbula at 3:09 PM PST - 24 comments

"We can only watch the slaughter, say UN troops" in the Congo - where machetes are turned into weapons of mass destruction - the hobbled UN presses for action, and the US and Major US Media outlets take no notice.
posted by specialk420 at 3:07 PM PST - 51 comments

In Anne Frank fashion, a man sentanced to death by Saddam Hussein emerges from hiding after twenty years. Years spent living In between the walls of his parents house.
posted by bitdamaged at 2:58 PM PST - 9 comments

BodyBurden: the pollution in people. "Researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants, and other chemicals in the blood and urine of nine volunteers, with a total of 167 chemicals found in the group. Like most of us, the people tested do not work with chemicals on the job and do not live near an industrial facility. Scientists refer to this contamination as a person’s body burden. Of the 167 chemicals found, 76 cause cancer in humans or animals, 94 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 79 cause birth defects or abnormal development. The dangers of exposure to these chemicals in combination has never been studied." This was also the subject of a PBS program by Bill Moyers, Trade Secrets. Moyers himself was found to have 84 chemicals in his blood and urine. [Via This Modern World.]
posted by homunculus at 1:04 PM PST - 17 comments

Extra, extra! Think your job is bad? Film extras (or 'background' as they're commonly referred to) just stand around waiting all day, have to bring their own wardrobe, and must always obey the unspoken rule of not chatting up the real talent. It's the job that's pretty much 'about nothing', with no guarantees, no glamour, no money. Yet, with that said, there are already many who do it, and more trying to break in every day. Are movie extras merely suckers for punishment, or are they hoping to find fame and fortune?
posted by debralee at 8:31 AM PST - 20 comments

OK, I admit it. I'm a junkie for inscrutable Japanese flash clips. This rousing one has a stylish and powerful use of type and this one, a fun combo of music & ascii art. But what's this - bondage love and a dramatic international rescue? Or this militaristic call-to-action with a decidedly anti-bush tone, should DHS be worried? And this seems a cautionary tale on substance abuse, perhaps the result of attending too many kitty raves?? At least this sweet tale of found love seems familiar. Can anyone elucidate me?
posted by madamjujujive at 8:23 AM PST - 26 comments

Britain finds Iraq's 'smoking gun': a top-secret missile Ok. Now reveal what you have always believed and affirm or deny this.
posted by Postroad at 5:05 AM PST - 73 comments

His Turgid Member, Her Heaving Bosoms, My Gag Reflex: There's nothing like really bad erotica to take your mind off sex. There's no sentence like "Brooke ripped off Randy's mesh jersey. His abs were undulating hills, with heavy underbrush around his navel." to make you think of lint and tumbleweed. For our undelectation, Nerve.com's readers have chosen the very worst examples of lurid chastity-inspiring unsexiness. [Safe for work and Viagra-proof thanks only to downright descriptive incompetence. If you're excited by any of this, seek psychiatric assistance immediately.]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 2:21 AM PST - 31 comments