July 16, 2009
World's Oldest Penis
Australian scientists have found the world's oldest penis. Published Monday in the online version of Nature, the discovery of the 400 million-year-old clasper in an ancient fish specimen shows that animals were gettin' it on earlier than previously thought. Says one study author, "We were surprised because it's so big. We were expecting something smaller." SFW
Davy Jones Locker
The NAVIS project is a multilevel international database for ancient ships of Europe. The database has very detailed information and pictures of ships from the 2nd millenium BC to the 12th century AD (found whilst trying to answer this AskMe). [more inside]
Sedaris. Pizza. Together at last.
Dead Silence: Fear and Terror on the Anthrax Trail
Anthrax War - On the 6th Anniversary of the death of Dr. David Kelly, a provocative film (and book) about the 2001 Anthrax Attacks examines Kelly's role in the hidden world of germ weapons research. Youtube parts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. [more inside]
Death Race
Death Race (NYT) - for the third year, Pittsfield Vermont has hosted a 10 mile endurance run. [more inside]
old school etiquette
"To you, my friends, whose identity in these pages is veiled in fictional disguise, it is but fitting that I dedicate this book." Old school etiquette from the inimitable Emily Post and others. [more inside]
I have 5 Girl Friends and I Look Like Michael Jackson on the Thriller Album
He lives somewhere in LA, looks like Michael Jackson and Barack Obama, loves rap, chess, nachos, movies and pizza, has some comic books to sell, and wants to meet white, Asian and Latina Ladies with big butts to give him money, be his sex slaves, or just help him with Things. Performance art project or genuine kook?
"Magic missile!"
The New York Times profiles Jack Vance (but fails to mention Vancian Magic. (Curse you Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition!)
DNA Not The Same In Every Cell Of Body
DNA Not The Same In Every Cell Of Body. "...calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell... if it turns out that blood and tissue cells do not match genetically, these ambitious and expensive genome-wide association studies may prove to have been essentially flawed from the outset"
Nine Inch Cars
Last night at the London o2 arena, Gary Numan joined Trent and the gang on stage for an unexpected double bill rendition of Metal and Cars. The crowd went wild....
It only works because you click it
Ars Technica reports 12% of e-mail users have actually tried to buy stuff from spam, according to a study by the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group. Read the published survey here: part 1 (PDF), part 2(4.6MB zip file) and press release. (via).
"Imagine if Animal Crossing had a long lost mutant sibling that coalesced out of a creative flurry in a mere four months"
Bunni is a super adorable harvest moon/animal crossing flash game thing by Andre Spierings and Daniel Cook (the folks behind fishing girl). (via JiG) [more inside]
Word is still out on whether or not he could create a corndog too big for him to eat.
The Galactic Arms Race
Galactic Arms Race is a new game developed by the Evolutionary Complexity Research Group (EPlex) at the University of Central Florida. The game is a fairly basic 3D space shooter with an interesting angle: all weapons are genetically evolved, not designed by the game's creators. (Windows only, requires XNA installation before play)
Eternal sunshine
Easier than Twister
Don't tease my hair, bro!
The War for Afghanistan
How to win in Afghanistan? Peter Bergen looks at the capability of the Taliban insurgents, NATO troops, and the Afghan army and police, compares the current conflict to the Soviet invasion, and weighs the dangers of civilian casualties and popular support. He concludes that renewed American effort in the fight will "produce a relatively stable and prosperous Central Asian state." (via Matthew Yglesias)
How many books does it take to save a planet?
Worried about the environmental impact of your book buying habits? The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina suggests you consider how your books are being shipped.(SLYP)
A magic beyond all we do here
Harry Potter, The Musical (SLYTPL (Single Link Youtube Playlist))
Pull the other one
The Joy of Sex, Jr.
The NHS in the UK has released a pamphlet called Pleasure (pdf) to educate teens on the more enjoyable aspects of carnal relations. Some disagree with this development.
Black Lung Rising.
Black Lung Rising. "When coal miners suffering from black lung reach the point where they can no longer dig coal and they meet guidelines such as working the required number of years exposed to coal dust, they become eligible to file a black lung claim to obtain monthly benefits to live on ... When the decision is made to award a miner monthly benefits, the coal company has the right to appeal that decision, and often does." [more inside]
Mulder and Scully have been sent to investigate.
A mysterious black blob of something is floating along the Alaskan coast... and it's biological. According to the Coast Guard, "It's definitely not an oil product of any kind." The strange goop even has a taste for flesh... "[S]omeone turned in what was left of a dead goose -- just bones and feathers..."
We're All on Drugs
I guess we're going to have to Tron for this
Cheech and Chong discuss the current financial times, but cannot agree on economic forces in regards to the real price of goods, and decide they'll have to "Tron for this." This video is the second of Mean Magazine's videos made in some collaboration with Microsoft, through a series of "Cinemash" shorts. The videos are streaming on MSN, though they're sharing a clip of Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Sid and Nancy. (previous Mean Mag video on the blue)
I'm in Love with the Skipper (Dan)
"I'm doing 34 shows every day and every time it's the same..." (SLWAYT) Is this, like, the most serious song Weird Al has ever come up with? NOT to be confused with this (short parody from live show).
Remember Running Through The Sprinkler in Your Birthday Suit?
Do you let your small children run around naked? "The sexual component of nudity — and a fear of pedophiles — is what makes some adults object entirely to letting children be naked. Jenny Louie said her husband is so uncomfortable when their 4-year-old daughter, Rebecca, is naked that, even if she is alone in her bedroom, in Los Angeles, he will immediately close her shutters."
Playing with fire
"Its the story of our own village" ~ A journey in Indian street theatre (PDF of article) share's author Joel Lee's experiences wandering around India with three street theatre troupes. Also called the "theater of social change" this grassroots artform has become a powerful means of communication across the barriers of language, literacy and culture in both rural and urban India. [more inside]
And you thought I was sexy...
WTO, the US and Antigua - a love story
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