July 26, 2001

Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer Retires – Tom Lehrer has finally hung it up as a math lecturer at my alma mater, UC Santa Cruz. I couldn't find a web link specifically about that, but thought it was OK to use a link about the man himself. My Banana Slug Bulletin said he retired so it must be true.
posted by Kafkaesque at 10:09 PM PST - 10 comments

Kiss your Porn-E-Okie goodbye!

Kiss your Porn-E-Okie goodbye!
Chicken John, one of San Francisco's leading promoters of cool underground happenings, recently purchased the Odeon Bar. His idea? To provide a space for artistic, creative performances that don't fit in with the mainstream. One of his successes has been Porn-E-Okie, outlandishly cheesy karaoke performances accompanied by custom-edited porn videos. It's an experience that is part comedy, part performance art. It certainly puts songs like "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" in an entirely new light...

Well, thanks to the efforts of the SFPD, Porn-E-Okie is now a felony crime in San Francisco. To obtain his liquor license, Chicken John had to sign a paper promising to never do Porn-E-Okie again as it constitutes "willful and wanton disregard of public welfare and morals". In San Francisco? Are you kidding me?! The police must *love* the Castro...

I might as well add Mayor Willie Brown and President of the Board of Supervisors Tom Ammiano to my address book, because this kind of SFPD stupidity still seems entirely too common.
posted by insomnia_lj at 8:34 PM PST - 9 comments


"Evil is afoot, and hoofing it with dark gusto!" Finally, the Fox show The Tick is slated to run in November and the official site is now open with clips, pics, and screensavers.
posted by Sal Amander at 8:31 PM PST - 16 comments

It is said that on a hot day, you can still smell traces of molasses in the city.
I had never heard about this until I met someone from Boston. As they say, wicked....
posted by machaus at 7:13 PM PST - 7 comments

Windsor McKay (of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" fame) and George Herriman (of "Krazy Kat" and "Archie & Mehitabel") weren't just innovative, influential cartoonists; they were also pioneering animators. The Library of Congress' Origins of American Animation project has downloadable short films by McKay (including his celebrated Gertie the Dinosaur) and Herriman as well as others from the early, early days of animated film.
posted by snarkout at 3:57 PM PST - 7 comments

"Lesbianism" on the rise in Fiji

"Lesbianism" on the rise in Fiji
    Women are said to find this a more attractive option over domestic violence. Be prepared for a rise in the divorce rate, as many "businesswomen" are also becoming lesbians.
    (On the way back, I discovered a new portal for Fiji, hellofiji.com, which offers paid subscriptions to Fijilive.com articles, especially news coverage of the May 19 coup. Also this picture gallery of eligible singles! A full-blown Fijian web renaissance.)
posted by rschram at 3:34 PM PST - 10 comments

THE toy for Christmas 2001

THE toy for Christmas 2001
Hunter Dan, with buck killin' tree stand action!
Yeeehaw!!!
posted by lheiskell at 3:28 PM PST - 8 comments

You go, Tom!

You go, Tom!
"The roll call was a feather in [Tom] Daschle's cap as he managed to prevail in his first effort as majority leader to stop a Republican filibuster."

Senator Tom Daschle (from South Dakota, no less), one of the only Democrats who still has guts. (Where are ye, Harkin? Where hast thou gone, Wellstone?)
posted by mapalm at 2:56 PM PST - 11 comments

What's it like to be born a sellout?

What's it like to be born a sellout? Two parents not only expecting a new child, but expecting a corporate donor to give them half a million dollars for the naming rights to their son. Their ebay listing claims it's for the child's education, though the article says they're looking to buy a new home. And if you actually think naming your offspring "Aaa-Oh-El" is a good idea and would like to copy it, too late, the imitators have already sprung up. (via NextDraft)
posted by mathowie at 2:54 PM PST - 20 comments

Ever been caught smoking in a violent manner?

Ever been caught smoking in a violent manner? This is the best slow-day-at-work reading around.
posted by mudbug at 2:28 PM PST - 15 comments

German satanic couple held after ritual murder

German satanic couple held after ritual murder Nothing better to create hits than this.
It has: devil-worshipping, satanic killing, with 66 machete and hammer wounds, "The victim was no longer recognisable", DNA analysis to discover his identity, black oak coffin, upturned crosses, Nazi SS rune stones, Count Dracula's castle, walls were covered in black cloths, "When Satan Lives", July 6, a date supposedly chosen for the satanic symbolism of number six, The shaven-headed, body-pierced Daniel and his pink-haired, leather-clad bride Manuela, occult chat-line....

I'll stop now, but there's more....
posted by nonharmful at 2:20 PM PST - 11 comments

Imminant death of net predicted. Good, the fad-followers can go on to whatever's next and the real geeks can take their Jolt back to their cubicles and go back to arguing about the One True Indentation Style.
posted by jfuller at 2:10 PM PST - 9 comments

What we do here on Metafilter is unimportant and should be prioritized so more important, corporate network traffic can get through.

What we do here on Metafilter is unimportant and should be prioritized so more important, corporate network traffic can get through. "The problem is that it was devised by a bunch of hippie anarchists who didn't have a strong profit motive. But this is a business, not a government-sponsored network." (LA Times link)
posted by crasspastor at 2:06 PM PST - 29 comments

Navajo Code Talkers honored

Navajo Code Talkers honored As indigenous languages die out all over the world, it's especially nice to see some recognition for the Navajo code talkers. There's also a dictionary here.
posted by judith at 1:54 PM PST - 6 comments

"I think the potential of the small-plane technology revolution is to make small planes seem more reasonable to people below the millionaire class," says James Fallows, author of Free Flight, a book in which Fallows advocates the use of safe next-generation compact airplanes to act as air-taxis, thus offering the masses an alternative to the hub-and-spoke system of air travel.
posted by Avogadro at 12:32 PM PST - 7 comments

How often are legal threats used to silence Internet activity? Help us to find out and counter baseless threats with the "chilling effects clearinghouse."

How often are legal threats used to silence Internet activity? Help us to find out and counter baseless threats with the "chilling effects clearinghouse." Harvard Cyber Law and the EFF combine forces to get a handle on over-zealous cease-and-desist orders issued over websites. Mattel has been so active in this area that they became the butt of jokes about it. Hopefully stupid stuff like this will start decreasing, or at least, there will be a group you can contact when you need support against these types of actions.
posted by mathowie at 12:09 PM PST - 5 comments

Pregnant mother has her 6-year-old arrested

Pregnant mother has her 6-year-old arrested for kicking her in the tummy. It started when she tried to "smack the child in the mouth," and then, with the help of her own mother, pin him down on the couch. She had him arrested to teach him a lesson.
posted by mudbug at 11:39 AM PST - 23 comments

Sick of ringing cell phones?

Sick of ringing cell phones? Then cheaply and effectively jam the signals with a device like the Wave-Shield pocket jammer. They're illegal in the U.S., but that's not stopping some people.
posted by waxpancake at 11:34 AM PST - 38 comments

The Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal name a puppy George Bush.

The Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal name a puppy George Bush. This isn't meant to be a complimentary act... it's in reaction to their discovery that the Bushes' cat's name is India (short for India Ink). They've taken this as an insult to the nation, and have retaliated with the puppy. I'm kind of curious about what this tells about Indian naming practices and significances, as compared to those in the US. Could someone more familiar with Hindu/Indian culture please enlighten me as to why they'd feel so insulted?
posted by jason at 10:22 AM PST - 36 comments

How about some feel-good stories? Anybody heard about the lovesick guy in Australia who flew to England to surprise his girlfriend, only she flew to Australia to surprise him at the same time? And from Cincinnati, a healthy baby girl was born to a mother who's been in a coma since a car crash 8 months ago.
posted by msacheson at 10:22 AM PST - 9 comments

What Is Your Earliest Memory?

What Is Your Earliest Memory? The San Francisco Exploratorium asked this question and got these responses on their website. The project is over now, so you can't add to their list, but that's not to say you couldn't mention it here.
posted by briank at 10:19 AM PST - 29 comments

Where were these girls when I was in college

Where were these girls when I was in college I just graduated a year ago and I don't recall women just wanting to "hook up."
posted by aj100 at 9:57 AM PST - 30 comments

We live in a sad, sad world.

We live in a sad, sad world. Teacher now get homicide insureance. This speaks for itself.
posted by aj100 at 8:03 AM PST - 17 comments

"[Gigantic Media Company]'s actions are unprecedented and completely anti-consumer,"

"[Gigantic Media Company]'s actions are unprecedented and completely anti-consumer," said [Other Gigantic Media Company] spokesman Vivek Varma. "[Gigantic Media Company] is paying computer makers to eliminate consumer choice, forcing people to select the most expensive service in the industry." Uh, pot, kettle left a message for you: you're black.
posted by lawtalkinguy at 7:27 AM PST - 12 comments

Net Detective 2001

Net Detective 2001 can help you find "EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about your friends, family, neighbors, employees, and even your boss! You can even check out yourself. It is all completely legal, and you can do it all in the privacy of your own home without anyone ever knowing. It's even better than hiring a private investigator."

A friend of mine who is still unsure of the security of the Internet was curious about a spam he received and forwarded me. I wrote it off immediately as typical rubbish spam but decided to investigate it. I searched for it in Google only to find the same web page on many different sites.

I haven't tried installing it, just seems a bit too dodgy and I don't want to risk my computer's security, but has anyone heard about this program? I assumed it was some sort of scam but couldn't find anything about it in that sense.
posted by Jase_B at 6:21 AM PST - 14 comments


T new that "Niggaz" stuff would lead to no good....

T new that "Niggaz" stuff would lead to no good.... "And now, flush with grant money from a fellowship supported by Jewish big shots like Steven Spielberg, Charles Bronfman and others, Ms. Bleyer and her post-collegiate buddies are busily working on bringing this new cool-Jew magazine to life. The first issue is due in January. They have assigned some articles and taken some photos, and they also have a title: Heeb, as in the old ethnic slur, short for "Hebrew." "
posted by BGM at 12:23 AM PST - 27 comments

These two teachers

These two teachers had the nerve to expose more kids to AP English classes, their reward? Removal from the program by a principal. How can teachers persevere when the parents and/or administration are both set against them?
posted by owillis at 12:17 AM PST - 19 comments

« Previous day | Next day »