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Even Presidents need to apologize from time to time. Other lesser politicians and business people need to learn the fine art of apology as well. There are sorry poems [warning: bad midi music]. And of course, for those who can’t think of anything to say, there’s an apology generator
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The World's Worst Food. "A naked imitation of the Gallery of Regrettable Food", featuring late 50's and early 60's-era recipes from the UK.
comment posted at 12:23 PM on Aug-25-03

What's Not To Love About A Good Hatchet Job? Christopher Hitchens gleefully chainsaws into JFK; while Neal Ascherson demonstrates the more elegant approach towards character assassination with a nice "Drunken Stalinist Bastard" piece on Kennedy's Cuban Missile buddy, Khrushchev. Meanwhile, in the streetfighting, eye-scratching category, Laura Miller rips Chuck "Fight Club" Palahniuk into tiny pieces. What lowest of low instincts makes us relish such gratuitous - yet somehow richly deserved in the Grand Scheme Of Things - slaughters? (Warning: Sorry. Possibly unethical direct linking of a Salon Premium article. If your conscience objects, please go through the usual channel.)
comment posted at 12:58 PM on Aug-25-03

Hidden Sides, Hushed Ideals of a Civil Rights Strategist
Bayard Rustin - Quaker, former Young Communist cum anti-communist socialist, advocate of non-violence, ''known homosexual'' , architect of the March on Washington and, it goes without saying, great American. A critical socialist take on Rustin. Here, for our resident Malcolm X man, a debate between Rustin and X in 1960--do note the latter's views evolved greatly between then and his assassination--and here is Nat Hentoff on Rustin. A recent P.O.V. fim on Rustin - Brother Outsider.
comment posted at 3:28 PM on Aug-25-03

In Defense of Prostitution [more inside]
comment posted at 3:25 PM on Aug-25-03

"By recklessly cutting taxes, President Bush has enriched the wealthy and neglected the poor, sent the federal budget deficit to record heights, and imposed a colossal financial burden on the coming generation. He has revived the culture wars by flaunting his Christian faith and by promoting traditional values. He has undermined public schools by supporting school choice. He has eroded the wall of separation between church and state by seeking federal funding for faith-based charities. He threatens to reverse decades of progress in civil rights by packing the judiciary with right-wing extremists. He has alienated our European allies with his crude cowboy diplomacy and provided a legitimate basis for anti-Americanism around the world. And he has knowingly deceived the American people in a matter of grave national importance by resting his case for war against Iraq on trumped-up charges about weapons of mass destruction." "That's a caricature", says Peter Berkowitz in a coolly favorable article about the current Presidency. 1st link via aldaily
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Asian Historical Architecture. 'Here you can view over 6500 photos of 462 sites in seventeen countries, with background information and virtual tours. '
comment posted at 3:13 PM on Aug-24-03

Remember that Fatboy Slim video with Christopher Walken dancing? Have a new look.
comment posted at 4:52 PM on Aug-22-03

Pray for Paul Wolfowitz Many across America and Americans in other countries are heeding the call to pray for our President. In a short time since the September 11 terrorist attacks, well over a million people have registered their promise to pray daily for the President. That number is increasing by tens of thousands of new team members every day. News of The Presidential Prayer Team is spreading rapidly throughout America as people march to the tempo of an almost forgotten tune, "God Bless America." The independent, nonprofit organization behind The Presidential Prayer Team, has a singular purpose: to encourage specific nationwide prayer for the President. The goal is to enlist at least 2.8 million participants, or 1% of the American population, to make this prayer commitment.
comment posted at 1:16 PM on Aug-22-03
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comment posted at 3:37 PM on Aug-22-03

President Bush's interest in high-tech gadgets. " 'He's no Al Gore,' said one Bush aide, (...) 'but he's very serious about having all this stuff work.' " via Drudge
comment posted at 8:14 AM on Aug-22-03

So the Japanese, still firmly plunged in the midst of their very own "Great Depression," are considering a proposal that would have the government spend 50 billion yean a year over three decades to develop a humanoid robot with the mental, physical and emotional capacity of a 5-year-old human. The proposed name of this venture? The Atom project, named after the Japanese cartoon character known to Americans as "Astro Boy."
comment posted at 9:18 AM on Aug-20-03

Dire Gnosis " In 1999, I started circulating a booklet called Beyond 2012, listing  information, theories and ideas from diverse sources which predict 2012 as an evolutionary pinnacle; a leap in consciousness; a dimensional shift; an end of linear time; an encounter with an asteroid; mass genetic mutation from solar or cosmic rays; etc. The ideas come from scientists, artists, mystics, alternative Egyptologists, prophets, divinatory systems, shamanic psychonauts, mythology, and Mesoamerican research.....some of it originated before the Mayan Long Count was known about, outside archaeological circles. For example, the McKenna brothers, who found a complex fractal "timewave" encoded in the ancient Chinese I Ching oracle, discovered its 2012-termination point several years before they heard anything about the Mayan Long Count."

Drugs, aliens, spiritualism, impending world catastrophe. If it's New Agey and weird, it's here: A Rosetta Stone for New Age catastrophism! Don't miss: What's New #1, What's New #2, What's New #3, #4, #5.... WARNING! - blue/green/purple/red/yellow text on a black background with a picture of a man staring upwards, lightning shooting into his eyes, with a "ZZzzzap" sound file to hammer the point across. (safe for work, I guess)
comment posted at 9:24 AM on Aug-20-03

Rap Not Music to Whitey's Ears A group of alleged white extremists facing treason charges in South Africa has complained about being forced to listen to "black" music while on remand in prison.
comment posted at 1:22 PM on Aug-19-03

Body sushi by Gary Arabia. (SFW)
comment posted at 2:26 PM on Aug-19-03

Black sues black for racism. "Dwight Burch, a former [Applebee's] employee, accused his manager at the Jonesboro, Ga., restaurant of repeatedly referring to him as a 'tar baby' and 'Black monkey' during his three months at the restaurant." Here's the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission press release about the lawsuit (settled out of court for $40,000). The EEOC calls the case "rare"; BET says it's "increasingly common". But wait a minute: since black males make it a point to call each other "nigger", how can you tell self-deprecating camaraderie from self-loathing colorism?
comment posted at 8:23 PM on Aug-16-03
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Hell - we've all thought about it, read about it (line 70 onwards 40% of the way down) and probably dismissed it as silly. Then along comes a choice candidate and the questions start again. Who would you put in hell, and why?
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comment posted at 8:24 AM on Aug-18-03

Don Mueller's interests include single women, video production and radio/TV announcing. The fifty-something Colorado bachelor is "secretly famous" and a member of Mensa. Don debates why he's not attracted to fat women, takes lessons in flirting and provides statistical proof as to why he's still single. Don even hits a first date home run with the help of Old School Hollywood royalty! In the days of well-designed and well-written weblogs, this is one of a disappearing breed of personal websites that will be missed (albeit in an ironic kinda way).
comment posted at 12:48 PM on Aug-15-03

Top 10 ways to cope with power outages
From the Iraqis, who've had plenty of exeprience with this recently. (via Tapped)
comment posted at 9:53 AM on Aug-15-03

The New Jersey Churchscape. Quite fascinating. Photos, too.
comment posted at 9:18 AM on Aug-15-03

Americans pay lip service to diversity says David Brooks in The Atlantic. Though we talk about the melting pot, we tend to group ourselves with similar people. Do you really care enough about diversity to actively seek it out? Is metafilter a virtual example of this phenomenon?
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The 20 Worst Figures in American History, as selected by 39 right-wing bloggers selected by Right Wing News. For balance, they also asked 36 left-wing bloggers for their list.
[via Mark A. R. Kleiman, who has some interesting commentary; more inside]
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comment posted at 1:46 PM on Aug-13-03

What makes us cry? What makes you cry? Why, particularly, do acts of kindness make some of us cry?
comment posted at 9:46 AM on Aug-13-03
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comment posted at 11:06 AM on Aug-13-03

Officials: Bush Administration Was Slow to Approve Drones to Kill Bin Laden I am not able to say how accurate this posting is, but I post it because it strikes me that if true, Bush is certainly not the strong and forthright Texan gunman he has been made out to be. Any one know more on this issue?
comment posted at 3:54 PM on Aug-12-03

"The only lady I've kissed is my mom" -- WA couple plan their first kiss...on the altar at their wedding. Is there something profound (and not just creepy) about postponing everything but hand-holding until after the vows? Or are they doomed to disappointment? (Via Obscure)
comment posted at 9:02 AM on Aug-11-03
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comment posted at 3:38 PM on Aug-11-03

Squirrel Fishing turned out to be taken The link you entered (http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~yaz/en/squirrel_fishing.html) was found in 1 previous thread.

( I was looking for a reference, to aid me in drawing something , looked up fishing )

Even Harvard students get bored. [via TheMaxx] posted on July 5, 2001 Go to the detail view for this result

Please make sure it's not a duplicate of something posted before.

OK I wonder if the next thing I've seen has been taken....as I search for things I need... I see some things and wonder are they MetaMaterial?

(NOT ENTIRELY SURPRISED)

It is not! I happen to be a fan of shadow puppetry.

That screen that you get that hints you in regard to your link is both wonderful and a bummer. Has anyone here experienced a SERIES of such letdowns, with each link having been posted at some past time in MeFi history?


I cannot imagine the let down.


My query: How does each poster go about their epiphany... their find... and how do they deal with the letdown factor?
comment posted at 11:22 PM on Aug-9-03

Nature is amazing. "Camera approaching coral with no sign of animal. As the camera gets closer, an O. vulgaris that was camouflaged changes color to white and becomes visible." This page leads to a video clip containing "special effects" that put the movie industry to shame. (via Looka!)
comment posted at 12:47 PM on Aug-8-03

The founders of Metafilter and Kuro5hin plan to launch an independent news site this fall to track the 2004 presidential campaign. Matt Haughey and Rusty Foster, the programmers behind those two collaborative media sites, will create a "smart mob-style site" to provide a place for independent reporting about next year's election.

[more inside]
comment posted at 1:55 PM on Aug-8-03

Does Belonging To A Club Make Sense In The 21st Century? Why, then, are they proliferating? And with free membership, already! Will the clubbish mentality, like the poor, always be with us? Is it still birds of a feather or just "anything goes"; an excuse; a lame post-modern irony taken far too far? Is "exclusive" still acceptable? Does it, in fact, still exist? Come to think of it, is MetaFilter a club of sorts?
comment posted at 10:49 AM on Aug-7-03