How to improve your voice and speech. Also, other helpful tips to help make life easier, such as how to tell if someone's lying to you, how to make people like you, how to handle yourself in a stupid argument and most critically, how to control your ejaculation pic NSFW.
posted to MetaFilter by psmealey at 5:00 AM on May 20, 2007 (58 comments)

Learn Spanish with podcasts from SpanishSense.
posted to MetaFilter by klue at 6:54 AM on May 20, 2007 (14 comments)

"The old, mean man" vs. "The mean old man." Here's an aspect of English (and other languages) I've never thought of before. If you're using a string of adjectives, there's a natural order for them to appear in: "opinion :: size :: age :: shape :: color :: origin :: material :: purpose". (Although I find "old, mean," due to it's strange order, sort of striking.) [more info: 1, 2, 3]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee at 11:58 AM on May 19, 2007 (91 comments)

Earth Guide: An interactive exploration of our planet. Also in Japanese. [via]
posted to MetaFilter by monju_bosatsu at 1:43 PM on May 17, 2007 (7 comments)

100 Movies. 100 Quotes. 100 Numbers. If you've got 10 minutes, see how many you can name. I'm hovering around a sure 52.
posted to MetaFilter by Stan Chin at 1:47 PM on May 17, 2007 (85 comments)

doFlick.com is a library of educational and instructional videos. It's short on content at the moment but it could turn out to be a useful resource. Who wouldn't benefit from knowing how to fold a plastic bag neatly?
posted to MetaFilter by tellurian at 7:35 PM on May 16, 2007 (24 comments)

Two feet wide , twenty eight feet long, forty feet high. The six people that lived there called it flatland. They lived in this clear vinyl space for 15 days. Says the designer: "I see (smell and hear) way more than I want about the habits of the others I am flat [sic] with. The design of the space constructs us in a way that departs from how we culturally understand ourselves (autonomous, private, and with options for movement). After six days in Flatland I feel more like a pet than a person."
posted to MetaFilter by bigmusic at 11:21 PM on May 16, 2007 (38 comments)

The Cube (1969) , directed by Jim Henson. (Some background)
posted to MetaFilter by growabrain at 11:43 PM on May 14, 2007 (20 comments)

Does God Exist? The Nightline Face-Off
Former child star Kirk Cameron and his evangelist colleague Ray Comfort (infamous for their banana argument) take on atheists in a debate over the existence of God. Per usual, you can expect calm, cool, collected temperaments and absolute respect for a difference of opinion. Especially since both parties have been previously featured on Nightline, the former taking to the streets to challenge atheists and the latter proposing a God-rejecting blasphemy challenge. You know you're rubbing your hands in anticipation of the fireworks, but you better let Bill O'Reilly weigh in first. For more youtube goodness, parts 1 and 2 of the Nightline piece (the full debate is available in the first link).
posted to MetaFilter by Mach3avelli at 10:58 AM on May 11, 2007 (294 comments)

“We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones.” Research confirmed that “many regular readers think of the classics as long, slow and, to be frank, boring. You’re not supposed to say this but I think that one of the reasons Jane Austen always does so well in reader polls is that her books aren’t that long”.

The first six titles in the Compact Editions series are Anna Karenina, Vanity Fair, David Copperfield, The Mill on the Floss, Moby Dick and Wives and Daughters. Each has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to 40 per cent of the text. Words, sentences, paragraphs and, in a few cases, chapters have been removed.

“We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones.”
posted to MetaFilter by four panels at 9:12 PM on May 7, 2007 (269 comments)

Baby Cakes (created by Brad Neely) gets aggressive at D&D tourney
posted to MetaFilter by BostonJake at 1:12 AM on May 7, 2007 (22 comments)

Time travel exists. It's called old pictures.
posted to MetaFilter by Mblue at 4:56 PM on May 6, 2007 (40 comments)

Nineteen Eighty-Four (YouTube) Nigel Kneale's BBC adaptation of the Orwell classic; made in 1954, with Peter Cushing as Winston Smith.
posted to MetaFilter by Abiezer at 6:03 AM on May 6, 2007 (18 comments)

Movie posters redone grindhouse style.
posted to MetaFilter by delmoi at 1:03 PM on May 5, 2007 (47 comments)

Feeding Desire: The Tools of the Table [click on "visit the website"] is an amazing illustrated history of utensils over the past 600 years. If you prefer history to design, look at the California Academy of Science's collection and learn more of the history of the knife, fork, spoon (and more spoons!), and chopsticks. Not covered in these collections are the awesome cutlery/gun combinations of the 1700s, or how to identify the bewildering array of specialized silverware there is out there. Don't forget your bacon forks and cake breakers!.
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 1:43 PM on May 4, 2007 (16 comments)

Forbes Magazine Details The Top Ten Most Exotic Kinds of Weed (yes, the puff puff kind) with pricing and lovely pictures but no links to local dispensaries.

PS. Yer favorite weed that's not on the list sucks.
posted to MetaFilter by fenriq at 10:45 PM on May 2, 2007 (102 comments)

Nova Swing by M John Harrison has won the 2007 Arthur C Clarke Award. Named after the famous author and announced on the opening night of the Sci Fi London film festival the award is one of the most prestigious in science fiction. Everything you could possibly wish to know about this year's shortlist.
posted to MetaFilter by ninebelow at 1:47 PM on May 2, 2007 (33 comments)

Illegal drugs. They can do strange things to people. For decades, public service announcements have warned us of their dangers. We've been lectured by Robocop! Whitney! Cavemen! Cops! TMNT! Pee Wee! Reagans! Legos! Sonny Bono! Even screaming hot dogs! Don't let drugs ruin the Now Generation. Whatever you do, don't listen to bad people and take the easy way out. 'Cuz seriously... drugs can make you really, really ugly. Mmmkay?
posted to MetaFilter by miss lynnster at 3:41 PM on May 1, 2007 (55 comments)

How to conduct a job interview. 5 steps to conducting good job interviews and finding the right candidates. Contains answers to the infamous why is a manhole cover round question. Also, 10 common mistakes managers should avoid when conducting same. On the flispide, here are some tips for interview preparation, the 25 most difficult questions an interviewee can prepare for and some things to avoid saying in interviews.
posted to MetaFilter by psmealey at 6:04 AM on April 30, 2007 (52 comments)

“I never think of my age,” she said. “We don’t die at a certain age. And if people didn’t know they were getting a certain age, maybe the same age their father died or their mother died, I think they’d be better off.”

Nola Ochs, 95, will soon become the oldest person to graduate from college, according to Guinness World Records.
posted to MetaFilter by Brittanie at 9:26 PM on April 29, 2007 (18 comments)

Bill Moyers interviewed Jon Stewart on April 27. The video is on the Moyers' soon-to-be great new site.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 5:04 PM on April 29, 2007 (66 comments)

How do I diagram this sentence?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mai at 4:41 PM on April 25, 2007 (26 comments)

This lip sych of Flagpole Sitta is all kinds of awesome. An old favorite made new again by the office staff of Collegehumor et al in one take. It's a little slow to start, but it hits pure joy by the end.
posted to MetaFilter by mathowie at 9:57 AM on April 27, 2007 (102 comments)

A Japanese actress complains that her new poodle doesn't bark and won't eat dog food. Why's that? Because it's a lamb. Apparently as many as 2,000 people in Japan may have been duped. Let the punning commence.
posted to MetaFilter by cerebus19 at 9:55 AM on April 26, 2007 (106 comments)

Fascist America in 10 Easy Steps: a good read from The Guardian.
posted to MetaFilter by byronimation at 11:18 AM on April 24, 2007 (133 comments)

A graphical dissertation of Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot". Consider the reasoning, first, of just "I'm hot 'cause I'm fly": Mims is hot because he's fly. But it raises the question: Does being hot guarantee one's being fly? "You ain't 'cause you not" would seem to clear that up: It would appear that fly and hot are interchangable. If you are one, you are both; if you aren't at least one, you are neither.
posted to MetaFilter by four panels at 6:33 PM on April 23, 2007 (33 comments)

Thou shalt not make a one-link YouTube post. Unless, you know, it's something good.
posted to MetaFilter by ikkyu2 at 10:54 PM on April 19, 2007 (98 comments)

if you've not heard of the book "confessions of an economic hitman", then these few videos are gonna put your chins on the floor. it is disturbing how much the guy looks like george the second.
posted to MetaFilter by 6am at 4:07 AM on April 19, 2007 (48 comments)

The Power of the Penis [YouTube],[NSFW]. I'm sorry for making my first post ever a single link YouTube post, but this Atlanta Public Access TV clip is the most educational video I have ever seen. Alexyss Tylor hosts a show on 'Vagina Power 'and 'Penis Power' with her mother. It's about 9 minutes of true insight - women, don't let men hit the bottom or use their penis as a weapon! Separate the love, the orgasm, and the penis, OK? Make sure he buys you the shrimp plate though!
posted to MetaFilter by waitingtoderail at 3:00 PM on April 17, 2007 (293 comments)

I'm a modern man, I'm a modern man, A man for the millennium, Digital and smoke free. - George Carlin hits one out of the park with the first four and a half minutes of this hour and a half Google Video. Then it's back to his stock in trade.
posted to MetaFilter by Happy Dave at 2:09 PM on April 15, 2007 (89 comments)

Live, From Outer Space: rural fires [1, 2], The Haze in China [1 ,2, 3] and its movement, aerosols, and the brothers carbon monoxide [a photochemical smog agent] and carbon dioxide.
posted to MetaFilter by trinarian at 2:59 AM on April 14, 2007 (10 comments)

Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgium girls choir ("2 brothers and 40 girls") that covers bands such as The Cure, Radiohead, and U2. Their songs range from hauntingly beautiful ("With or Without You" youtube/streaming/download (26.1MB)) to strange (42MB podcast mp3--"Teenage Dirtbag" cover starts at 17:00)to downright disturbing ("I Touch Myself"). Want more? Smells like Teen Spirit, Friday I'm in Love, Someone New, Dream On, Can't Get You Out of My Head. (See Wiki, myspace.)
posted to MetaFilter by null terminated at 9:33 PM on April 13, 2007 (71 comments)

The most sadistic user-created Super Mario Bros level ever. I cried with laughter.
posted to MetaFilter by humblepigeon at 10:13 AM on April 13, 2007 (68 comments)

I hereby declare myself king of Monkey Kick-Off. With a score of 4750 Monkey Meters, I feel secure & confident that my reign will be a long & prosperous one.
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 1:40 AM on April 13, 2007 (49 comments)

An amazing collection of classic American television commercials. Sorted by category: Eat, Drink, Smoke, Clean, Groom, Shop and Travel. Includes descriptions and historical background. The commercials can be viewed in either RealPlayer or MediaPlayer format, and newer ones will work in both IE and Firefox.
posted to MetaFilter by amyms at 9:01 PM on April 10, 2007 (7 comments)

Ezra Pound: The Complete Poetry Recordings at PennSound
posted to MetaFilter by ubueditor at 8:30 AM on April 10, 2007 (31 comments)

When you consume coconut meat, coconut milk or popcorn you are eating endosperm. The dark, unsettling world of plant sexuality.
posted to MetaFilter by Brandon Blatcher at 9:35 AM on April 8, 2007 (35 comments)

The Philosophy Podcast seems to be a podcast where great philosophical works are read aloud. Unfortunately you need to pay for the full works, but the bits are fun. For something a little more contemporary, check out Philosophy Talk, hosted by Ken Taylor and one of the funniest contemporary analytic philosophers: John Perry. In particular, check out Perry's light essays in which the power of procrastination can be harnessed (and apparently now put on t-shirts), an ideal desk is a giant lazy susan, and connections are drawn between golf and suffering.
posted to MetaFilter by ontic at 10:47 AM on February 27, 2007 (8 comments)

Listen to 'Year Zero', the new Nine Inch Nails album for free. Album main page. Via nin.com
posted to MetaFilter by slimepuppy at 4:31 AM on April 5, 2007 (66 comments)

The Geograph British Isles project aims to collect geographically representative photographs and information for every square kilometre of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It also tells you what's unique about Beast Cliff.
posted to MetaFilter by Abiezer at 12:27 AM on April 4, 2007 (20 comments)

The Most Hated Family in America (Parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) The BBC spends some time with the notorious Westboro Baptist Church of Fred Phelps, et alli. (Note: Some NSFW language and tons of crazy)
posted to MetaFilter by Ljubljana at 3:35 AM on April 4, 2007 (129 comments)

Why We Banned Legos - Exploring power, ownership, and equity in an early childhood classroom. National Review response. (via this post on Salon Broadsheet)
posted to MetaFilter by Melinika at 2:26 PM on April 3, 2007 (219 comments)

Poets on YouTube: Bukowski; Dylan Thomas; Jim Morrison; Allen Ginsberg; Sylvia Plath; Billy Collins; Cookie Monster; and what the hell, even Jacques Brel.

But there's plenty of readings by amateurs as well: for example, lilcutiewithabooty06 reads e e cummings; Michael reads cummings really fast; Tom Waits and Bono read Bukowski; bearded men read Lewis Carroll and Shakespeare; and what if Emily Dickinson had a ukulele?

Mouseover links to see titles; feel free to add your favourites.
posted to MetaFilter by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:31 PM on March 26, 2007 (29 comments)

The Open Secret. "They were a light in the dark ... This is who and what I am; this is my tribe — and, look, I’m famous and life is fun". Matthew Parris sings the praises of those old British poofs, the camp, safe, funny gays that your mum liked. All together now I'm Free! more more
posted to MetaFilter by grahamwell at 8:13 PM on March 18, 2007 (35 comments)

Archaic English Project: "The primary goal of the Archaic English Project was the resurrection of favorite archaic English words."Also, A Concise Dictionary of Middle English. A few Middle English texts. Harvard's Chaucer website
posted to MetaFilter by Gnostic Novelist at 1:27 PM on March 18, 2007 (18 comments)

1909      >      1920
One of the Guys
When It Was OK to Show Affection
Seeing Males Together: Brokeback Mountain and Picturing Men
posted to MetaFilter by y2karl at 3:43 PM on March 17, 2007 (97 comments)

Sad Sack George Baker's subtly subversive WWII strip.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 9:59 PM on March 14, 2007 (15 comments)

Darwin's God. "A scientific exploration of how we have come to believe in God." This article tracks the possibility that belief in a higher power is the product of evolution.
posted to MetaFilter by inconsequentialist at 11:49 PM on March 3, 2007 (50 comments)

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, featuring "the largest collection of Holmesian graphics online", a Scholars' Wing featuring essays and articles, pastiche and parodies. Arthur Conan Doyle's champion of logic and reason is the antithesis of the author's spiritualist beliefs. In his will (5.B), Doyle left sums of money to the Spiritualist Alliance of London and the Psychic College stating "...these institutions represent the most important religious movement that this world now holds". His belief in the occult and in particular fairies is surprising, yet somewhat understandable considering the era in which he lived.
posted to MetaFilter by sluglicker at 2:37 AM on February 27, 2007 (8 comments)

The World Lecture Hall is a compedium of links to open university materials. Some include lecture notes, text books and even video. The OCW at MIT is probably the most well known but there are many universities that provide online access to course materials. Want to learn about medicine? John Hopkin's kindly provides some popular courses (Cadaver not included). Notre Dame provides a number of courses focused on the liberal arts. The University of Washington provides Computer Science and Engineering courses. Tufts provides a potpourri of courses, including dentistry.
posted to MetaFilter by substrate at 4:39 PM on February 24, 2007 (13 comments)