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A funny thing happened to me on the way to the Balasmic vinegar warehouse "Watch me turn balsamic vinegar and borderline road rage into Truffles." How one guy accidently made the best ever wedding anniversary meal.
posted by Man_in_staysis at 11:12 PM PST - 34 comments

Get away from it all. [more inside]
posted by phrontist at 11:01 PM PST - 11 comments

Crap Detection 101 Howard Rheingold offers a fairly in-depth primer on media and internet BS detection. Lots of links to resources for enabling critical analysis of various information sources included.
posted by telstar at 10:29 PM PST - 17 comments

The Toughest Canada Day Quiz Ever. In honour of Canada Day, one tough quiz from the magazine that told us how much the Internet sucks.
posted by GuyZero at 10:26 PM PST - 49 comments

Mr Squiggle, the Man from 93 Crater Crescent, the Moon, turns 50 today. Created by cartoonist and puppeteer Norman Hetherington, who would take children's scribbles and then craft it into a drawing, Mr Squiggle, along with friends Gus the Snail, Bill the Steam Shovel and the ever grumpy Blackboard (whom Mr Squiggle would use as an easel, being told to "Hu-rry u-p, hu-rry u-p" as he did) has been something of an institution for generations of Australian kids. Relive some of the magic...
posted by Effigy2000 at 8:28 PM PST - 18 comments

Nothing to Hide. Air New Zealand has introduced new ads and an in-flight safety video which uses body-painted uniforms to ... get your attention. SFW due to strategically placed drink carts, seatbelts and camera angles.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 6:29 PM PST - 54 comments

The surgery to give Mr Dapple the wings of a crow was scheduled to take twelve minutes...
posted by homunculus at 6:23 PM PST - 23 comments

It is fitting that today’s deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq’s cities coincides with a meeting in Baghdad to auction off some of the country’s largest oil fields to companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and British Petroleum. It is a reminder of the real motives for the 2003 invasion and in whose interests over one million Iraqis and 4,634 American and other Western troops have been killed. However, today's bidding was not the bonanza that was expected. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye at 6:15 PM PST - 44 comments

Vanity Fair recently published "It Came From Wasilla", Todd Purdum's lengthy profile piece about Sarah Palin, her involvement with and the inside workings of the McCain campaign, and her political future. [more inside]
posted by Weebot at 5:07 PM PST - 232 comments

Telstar: A film about the genius Joe Meek, had a fittingly interesting route to the screen. [previously]
posted by sam and rufus at 4:30 PM PST - 11 comments

You may know it as acetaminophen, paracetamol, APAP, or ... Tylenol. Today an FDA advisory panel recommended banning prescription drugs that contain acetaminophen, such as vicodin and percocet. The panel of experts also voted to give acetaminophen a black box warning, and reduce the maximum dosage of over-the-counter formulations. Acetaminophen is a popular painkiller by itself and, in combination with opiates, is the most commonly prescribed medication in the US. [more inside]
posted by borborygmi at 3:26 PM PST - 118 comments

"We were having dinner about four months ago and I was showing Clelia some pictures I'd taken in the air, and she said, 'Oh, that's so beautiful. I want to do that,'" Ben said. Easier said than done when you're 95. [more inside]
posted by emelenjr at 3:10 PM PST - 9 comments

Canning makes a comeback. Is it just another foodie trend? Or is canning back for good? [more inside]
posted by sararah at 1:49 PM PST - 106 comments

Maybe you already know about film noir, how Italian-born French film critic Nino Frank coined the term in 1946, and that Dashiell Hammett's book The Maltese Falcon was adapted for film 3 times in 10 years. Or perhaps you've just browsed through the detailed Wikipedia page, and found the list of film noir series and films to be daunting, and IMDB search provides a list that is lacking. Either way, Noir of the Week has a wealth of information if you crave more details, but focuses on one film per week if long lists are daunting. Not interested in this week's film? They have over 240 movies covered to date.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:07 PM PST - 20 comments

Debate over government-funded services heats up. [SLSO]
posted by boo_radley at 12:32 PM PST - 47 comments

If you're tired of boring twee t-shirts with birds and swirly stuff and junk on them, maybe it's time you started running with the Big Dogs. From "Fart Now Loading" to "Talk Slower - I don't speak STUPID", Big Dogs brand graphic tees are a great way to communicate your hip, in-your-face, modern attitude. [more inside]
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:30 PM PST - 135 comments

The verdict is in. Absent U.S. Supreme Court appeals, meet Senator Franken. (Decision)
posted by Muddler at 11:43 AM PST - 152 comments

Sewer Creatures
posted by MetaMonkey at 11:41 AM PST - 117 comments

He is a man with one name. He is a thief and a killer, and the protagonist of 24 hard boiled novels written by prolific author Donald Westlake (previously) under the pseudonym Richard Stark. He is Parker, and he is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. [more inside]
posted by dortmunder at 10:59 AM PST - 39 comments

June has been a good month for political upheaval and mass protest. Peru (update), China, and Iran were discussed here previously. But how many of the following were you aware of: Canada, Thailand, Honduras, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Kashmir, Pakistan, and India? The latter four reflect a quite serious electricity shortage throughout the Indian subcontinent, during a record-breaking heat wave that has caused over 100 deaths. But don't worry, not everyone is dealing with life-threatening problems. In Israel 30,000 turned out to protest a parking lot. Meanwhile, Indymedia continues to cover all the bourgeois first-world protests you've never really wanted to know about.
posted by shii at 10:59 AM PST - 8 comments

A website has been launched to preserve the history of Danvers State Insane Asylum. The Asylum, which opened in 1878 in Danvers, MA (site of the Salem Witch Trials) and closed in 1992, was featured in the horror movie Session 9, and may have been the inspiration for HP Lovecraft's Arkham Asylum. Its Kirkbride Wings, which once held the institution's living quarters, now house a 400+ unit apartment complex. [more inside]
posted by zarq at 10:43 AM PST - 35 comments

The fine folks at OkCupid, the dating site, have begun to analyze aggregate data from the questions their users answer to form dating profiles, revealing, among other things, that users in Nevada are more open to rape fanstasies than those from Michigan. [more inside]
posted by dammitjim at 9:46 AM PST - 61 comments

• Canopy Formation Parachuting Record: 81 100
• Formation Skydiving Record: 400
• 69 :pɹoɔǝɹ uoıʇɐɯɹoɟ ƃuıʎlɟǝǝɹɟ [also, champion freeflying duo Spaceland Anomaly]
posted by not_on_display at 9:30 AM PST - 19 comments

Margie Profet was the "It Girl" of the 1990s, being awarded a McArthur Grant for her work in evolutionary biology in 1993 despite a lack of formal scientific training. Her papers on motherhood and the evolutionary influences on menstruation and morning sickness were hailed as revolutionary by some, but also dismissed as unscientific and criticized for numerous flaws in logic by others. As pressure mounted, she became more involved in her work, and less connected with her family and friends. [more inside]
posted by AzraelBrown at 9:24 AM PST - 35 comments

China's Marlboro Country: The strange, underground world of counterfeit cigarettes.
posted by chunking express at 6:12 AM PST - 35 comments

The most complete terrain map of the Earth's surface has been published. It covers 99% of the planet using ASTER satellite imagery. You can download the map and some cool images from NASA's page.
posted by atmosphere at 6:10 AM PST - 23 comments

How depressing is your sourcecode?
posted by mattoxic at 5:39 AM PST - 35 comments

The Pirate Bay will be sold to a Swedish listed software company. The press release states that the intention is to "introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site". Other stabs at this worked out less than brilliantly. The purchase amount (60MSEK of which half cash/half in stocks) matches the fine a bit too closely, but the founders states that the money are going into a foundation to promote freedom of speech, freedom of information and the openess of the nets. Pirate ideals or gold loot on Booty Island? Stay tuned...
posted by mnsc at 3:22 AM PST - 233 comments

Strange Games "What do you get if you cross a large rubber ball used for physical therapy with the medieval sport of Jousting? Yoga Ball Jousting."
posted by feelinglistless at 1:40 AM PST - 18 comments

Here's something interesting you can do with those clear plastic buffer discs that come in stacks of blank CDs: Blow a looooong bubble that looks like a condom. Here's another example. Here's a doubter trying it for himself. Apparently you can do it with actual CDs too, at least according to this post at English Russia. There are lots more videos of CD bubbles on YouTube, showing varying levels of success.
posted by amyms at 1:00 AM PST - 21 comments

How to start and drive a Model T
posted by loquacious at 12:52 AM PST - 26 comments

Print your own DIY papercraft drum machine. Webcam + paper template + free software = drum machine with tangible interface. [via] [more inside]
posted by mhjb at 12:11 AM PST - 3 comments