Monkey Fluids --20th century book and magazine illustrations with new text. ; >
posted to MetaFilter by amberglow at 2:11 PM on March 19, 2007 (10 comments)

Living small in the city: The smallest, coolest apartment contest results. Out of the city: the Micro Compact Home.
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 4:41 PM on March 18, 2007 (29 comments)

What's the deal with this "best of the web"? [mi]
posted to MetaTalk by sluglicker at 11:01 PM on March 17, 2007 (98 comments)

Brooklyn's Black Fire Percussion: bringing high school marching band drumming to a whole other level of funky expression. [All links YouTube]
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 7:52 PM on March 16, 2007 (40 comments)

Nature's Sumo Wrestlers. Hundreds of thousands of northern elephant seals once inhabited the Pacific Ocean. They were slaughtered wholesale in the 1800s for the oil that could be rendered from their blubber. By 1892, only 50 to 100 individuals were left. Today estimates are that about 150,000 roam the Pacific Ocean. And they are extraordinary animals - the males can average 1,800 kg and 5 meters in length. Mirounga angustirostris spends eight to ten months a year in the open ocean, diving 1000 to 5000 feet deep for periods of fifteen minutes to two hours, and migrating thousands of miles, twice a year, to its land based rookery for birthing, breeding, molting and rest. Once on the beach, they survive up to 3-4 months with almost no food or water. You can spy on them at through the live cam at Ano Nuevo State Reserve from 9am to 9pm (EST) though at this point, it’s mostly only the pups that are still on the beach as most of the adults have headed back to sea. Also, they do not like to be woken up.
posted to MetaFilter by otherwordlyglow at 4:07 PM on March 15, 2007 (28 comments)

Studies in Scarlet: Marriage & Sexuality in the US & UK, 1815-1914 , courtesy of Harvard University, features digitized trial narratives for over 400 cases--some famous, most not. (Harvard also has a more general collection of trial narratives here.) There are earlier trial narratives at Rictor Norton's Homosexuality in Eighteenth Century England: A Sourcebook and Early Eighteenth-Century Newspaper Reports; see also CrimeCulture's Rogue's Gallery and a Victorian anthology, Curiosities of Street Literature (originally published in 1871). Albert Borowitz has a brief history of true crime narratives here. For more historical criminality from the investigator's point of view, check out the Forensic Medicine Archives Project at the University of Glasgow. (Main link via VICTORIA.)
posted to MetaFilter by thomas j wise at 5:05 PM on March 15, 2007 (13 comments)

Jeff Han, shows advances in his multitouch interfaces a year later. YT video 1. YT video 2.
posted to MetaFilter by Blazecock Pileon at 7:08 PM on March 14, 2007 (36 comments)

Brenda Dickson , soap opera actress, asks politely for a divorce, but is "put out on the street " by the "cowboys in mediation." Follow the exploits of this postergirl for class rage through her own press releases, here, here, and here (What It Was Like In Prison).
posted to MetaFilter by maryh at 11:38 PM on March 13, 2007 (11 comments)

The World Ice Art Championships are being held in Fairbanks, Alaska this week. If you can't be there to see this year's sculptures, you can view last year's winners in both the single block and the multi-block divisions. You can also see many stunning entries from previous years.
posted to MetaFilter by cubby at 5:57 AM on March 12, 2007 (15 comments)

The "300" workout that turns you into a Greek statue (or homoerotic dreamboat). From Men's Health: Without resting between exercises, Butler performs 25 pullups, 50 deadlifts with 135 pounds, 50 pushups, 50 jumps on a 24-inch box, 50 floor wipers (*3), 50 single-arm clean-and-presses using a 36-pound kettle bell, and 25 more pullups. At least it works, and in only four months! In time for swimsuit season.
posted to MetaFilter by geoff. at 6:10 PM on March 11, 2007 (67 comments)

There is a bear in the woods. Some people say he is adorabley blotto. Some people say he is a ponderous Pooh. Still others say he is as cute as a bug's bottom. Since nobody really knows for sure, isn't smart to be smarter than the average bear? If there is a bear? YouTubery Ahoy
posted to MetaFilter by maryh at 12:32 PM on March 10, 2007 (16 comments)

Wet cats. Cats in hats. Random kittens. Piano cat. Silly cats. Lucky cat. 26 toed cat. Jumping monastery cats.
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 10:04 AM on March 10, 2007 (50 comments)

Retiring psychology professor Philip G. Zimbardo, who ran the Stanford Prison Experiment, gave his final lecture at Stanford this week, criticizing the Bush administration and saying that senior government officials responsible for Abu Ghraib should be "tried for the crimes against humanity." [Via MindHacks.]
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 8:34 PM on March 9, 2007 (38 comments)

Perhaps it's time to reconsider using MetaTalk to denounce single comments and only slightly contentious single posts. [More inside.]
posted to MetaTalk by MiguelCardoso at 1:03 PM on October 26, 2004 (53 comments)

You Don't Know Jack playable online. "If 50 Cent was actually worth 50 cents when he was born in 1975, adjusting for inflation, what would his name be today?" Plus, see the topical daily DisOrDat, including: Is this quote from the Bible or Deathstalker III? Crayola color or award-nominated porn movie? Brand of computer software or member of the Justice League? (NSFW for insulting commentator and suggestive references)
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 12:59 PM on March 7, 2007 (51 comments)

What is Philadelphia's trajectory in 2007? Seven cities are compared: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
posted to MetaFilter by jacobw at 1:54 PM on March 5, 2007 (29 comments)

Good Morning everyone. My name is Olive Riley. I live in Australia near Sydney. I was born in Broken Hill on Oct. 20th 1899.
posted to MetaFilter by pyramid termite at 12:41 PM on March 4, 2007 (25 comments)

Bee eaters and lesser kestrels.
posted to MetaFilter by Wolfdog at 6:37 AM on March 3, 2007 (12 comments)

"Another useful analogy might be with a clearing in the jungle. The web is certainly a jungle, and without a few clearings it is hard to see how the innocent can stay sane in there, and it might soon be hard to see anything at all." The words of poet and essayist Clive James, whose eponymous site is an online galley/anthology of breathtaking writing, art, and video interviews. My favorites include Ophelia Redpath's paintings titled after Shakespeare quotes, Laura Noble's photos of rusty things, and, of course, a collection James's outstanding poetry.
posted to MetaFilter by eustacescrubb at 5:14 AM on March 3, 2007 (8 comments)

A Damned Good Dam Site. The Fort Peck Dam in Montana, authorized by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and completed in 1940, is the largest hydraulically filled dam in the United States. The website is a wonderful compendium of history, technology, tragedy, personal stories, photographs, a webcam and much more. The dam also has the distinction of being featured on the very first Life Magazine cover, photographed by Margaret Bourke-White.
posted to MetaFilter by amyms at 10:04 PM on March 1, 2007 (18 comments)

OpenCongress.org is a site that aggregates data about the United States Senate and House. Keep track of your senators or representatives through rss feeds, read bills on topics that are important to you, and find out what industries are behind the scenes providing money to your politicians in Washington among many other uses of this new resource.
posted to MetaFilter by rfbjames at 10:55 PM on February 27, 2007 (18 comments)

Vox Imperium A pretty deep web based civilization game.
posted to MetaFilter by boo_radley at 9:17 PM on February 26, 2007 (19 comments)

Lost Cities.
posted to MetaFilter by Wolfdog at 12:20 PM on February 26, 2007 (27 comments)

Javascript Noob: I need to move one div inside of another div that is elsewhere on the page. How do I do this?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Freen at 4:02 PM on February 24, 2007 (3 comments)

Cartoon and classic painting mash-ups. The beginners' entries.
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 10:43 PM on February 22, 2007 (24 comments)

Mamiko picked up a cork that had rolled on the floor at the restaurant where she worked. From it she made her first tiny cork doll. She is often asked where she gets all of her corks. "I don't drink so much, but all of my friends who can drink quite a lot keep many corks for me." The pacifist is my favorite.
posted to MetaFilter by iconomy at 9:35 AM on February 19, 2003 (21 comments)

Newspaper Blackout Poems "So much thrives on facsimile that when you see the real deal, it has none of the passion and feels like a desperate pose."
posted to MetaFilter by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:46 AM on February 23, 2007 (25 comments)

WANTED: The Limping Lady. The Gestapo's poster read "She is one of the most valuable Allied agents in France and we must find and destroy her" but Virginia Hall, who used a prosthetic limb after losing a leg years before in a hunting accident, eluded them and saved countless Allied lives while working as a spy during WWII. Additional biographical information, as well as the biographies of other famous female spies, at WWII Female Spies (which has many outgoing links to other great informational resources about female spies in WWII).
posted to MetaFilter by amyms at 11:28 AM on February 21, 2007 (8 comments)

music files is a neat site I found while looking for information on a classical piece I'm learning on guitar. It seems to predominantly cover classical music but also covers other genres. It has biographies, mp3s, sheet music and so on.
posted to MetaFilter by substrate at 7:12 PM on February 21, 2007 (4 comments)

An autistic woman "speaks" her language, then ours. (YouTube) "My language is not about designing words or even visual symbols for people to interpret. It is about being in a constant conversation with every aspect of my environment, reacting physically to all parts of my surroundings." [more inside]
posted to MetaFilter by maudlin at 9:13 AM on January 25, 2007 (170 comments)

Amazing and hilarious found footage of LSD being tested on British troops (mpg) "The men began to relax and to giggle...One hour and ten minutes after taking the drug, with one man climbing a tree to feed the birds, the troop commander gave up...He himself then relapsed into laughter. [via the great New World Disorder]
posted to MetaFilter by mediareport at 11:07 AM on November 15, 2002 (50 comments)

George Takei responds to Tim Hardaway's recent comments.
posted to MetaFilter by EarBucket at 3:37 PM on February 20, 2007 (85 comments)

Ahh, the quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. The classic stands as the benchmark: but are there better? Many think so: Sherry Yard, David Lebovitz, the folks at Cooking Illustrated, Martha Stewart, Hillary Clinton, beloved New York bakeries, intrepid webloggers. Alton Brown in an episode of Good Eats shows how to get them thin, puffy, or chewy. Cookbook after cookbook and competition after competition try to ferret out the best of this american icon. Web recipe sites have their own favorites. Some people swear by secret ingredients: cornstarch, pudding (which has cornstarch in it), oats, great chocolate. Two thirds of Americans prefer their chocolate chip cookies "nutless." Others find technique of greatest importance. Is there any end to this quest for one of baking's holy grails?
posted to MetaFilter by shivohum at 9:46 AM on February 20, 2007 (53 comments)

The Design Disease "People with the disease will always choose books by their covers."
posted to MetaFilter by dhruva at 8:30 PM on February 18, 2007 (91 comments)

Satoshi Kamiya makes some pretty incredible origami.
posted to MetaFilter by grouse at 2:28 AM on February 10, 2007 (17 comments)

Hummus recipe filter: What’s the most interesting (and delicious) hummus you’ve made? I’m tired of all my variations and in the mood for something new. Recipes that go beyond the usual add-ons (i.e. sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, jalapeno, bonnet peppers, etc.) are particularly welcome.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by special-k at 12:18 PM on February 6, 2007 (37 comments)

Forgotten Media. Rediscovered technology of the past. (For those that don't read Boing Boing).
posted to MetaFilter by aisforal at 4:48 PM on February 14, 2007 (6 comments)

POSSUM LIVING: How To Live Well Without a Job ..building a $100 Log Cabin, a geodesic dome out of cardboard.. handbook for cob building.. cheap solar power system.. stocking up on food.. some more
posted to MetaFilter by petsounds at 8:53 AM on February 15, 2007 (37 comments)

MONSTERS. While Cthulhu enjoys frequent attention, Monster Brain does not discriminate in its collection of fine monster illustrations. Monster Brain likes awesome monsters. Monster Brain likes scary monsters. Monster Brain likes cute monsters. Monster Brain likes abstract monsters. I don't know what kind of monster this is.
posted to MetaFilter by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 9:56 PM on February 5, 2007 (11 comments)

Dr. Jeannine Mosely finishes building a level-3 Menger sponge from business cards. You can also build your own, though Dr. Mosely warns, "[a] level 4 sponge would require almost a million cards and weigh over a ton. I do not believe it could support its own weight — so a level 3 is the biggest sponge we can hope to build." (related)
posted to MetaFilter by Blazecock Pileon at 12:37 PM on February 2, 2007 (19 comments)

The old and the new Japan in one frame. The delicate relationship of Oyako, parent and child. In 1982 American photographer Bruce Osborn began what has become his lifelong work. For the last 25 years he took pictures of one parent with one child in a white studio setting.
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 9:19 PM on February 1, 2007 (28 comments)

The dirty underbelly -- I'm sick and tired of these hypocritical Hoosier legislators who think that my sex life or relationship status is any of their business. Do I intrude on who they're sleeping with? I didn't, but I'm going to start now. ...Consider this a call to arms gossip. ... -- Bilerico, a GLBT blog in Indiana, fighting their proposed state Constitutional Amendment to ban marriage and all other rights for gay and lesbian couples and families.
posted to MetaFilter by amberglow at 8:58 PM on January 25, 2007 (40 comments)

There are already some strange Soviet buildings. Gazprom intends to build these unusual skyscrapers in St. Petersburg. Maybe they will include caviar vending machines?
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 7:57 PM on January 18, 2007 (25 comments)

The story began quietly enough on May 18, 2002, when an angler caught an 18 inch fish in a Crofton, Maryland pond. In 2005 a fisherman is reported saying "We would throw one in the cooler, two others would jump out and we'd have to chase them through the woods." Frankenfish, timeline of the snakehead story in the USA. The snakehead is a voracious, predatorial fish, capable of walking, attacking men, living up to 4 days out of water and now spreading from state to state. Video of snakeheads eating (disturbing). Another kind of snakehead, the smuggler of humans. Mentioned previously on MetaFilter. [via]
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 10:17 AM on January 6, 2007 (36 comments)

“Maybe, yes, I am a diva.” Meet Ali Saleem, known on Pakistani TV as Begum Nawazish Ali, hostess of a popular talk show. Mr. Saleem’s portrayal ... a middle-aged widow who, in glamorous saris and glittery diamonds, invites to her drawing room politicians, movie stars and rights advocates from Pakistan and India.
posted to MetaFilter by amberglow at 1:54 PM on January 3, 2007 (21 comments)

"Tall-tale postcards emerged around the turn of the 20th century, when postcards came to function as surrogates for travel. People soon realized that postcards could be used to create or sustain a certain utopian myth about a town or region, and crafty photographers began to physically manipulate their photographs. Nowhere did these modified images, or "tall-tale postcards" as they came to be called, become more prevalent than in rural communities that hoped to forge an identity as places of agricultural abundance to encourage settlement and growth. Food sources specific to the region — vegetables, fruits, or fish — were the most common subjects."
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 8:46 PM on December 30, 2006 (20 comments)

I've been noting down ideas for a potential novel for over a year. Problem is, I now have so many that it's tough to keep track of it all. How can I organise and consolidate them into something workable?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Acey at 6:59 AM on December 30, 2006 (27 comments)

The bouzouki, the saz, chonguri and sarod, the veena and the shamisen, the cuatro and the oud. These and many hundreds more are to be found at the Atlas of Plucked Instruments. Plenty of guitars, banjos and mandolins as well.
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 1:09 AM on December 29, 2006 (12 comments)

A history of picture stories from 300 AD to 1929 and commentary. The evolution of speech balloons. Photos & drawings of early cartoonists. [via]
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 11:56 AM on December 26, 2006 (11 comments)

The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow. A documentary about Temple Grandin (previously discussed here and here.) [Via MindHacks.]
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 9:18 PM on December 18, 2006 (42 comments)