177 MetaFilter comments by bclark (displaying 51 through 100)

Stevie Wonder performs his classic hit "Superstition" on Sesame Street in 1973, and turns it into an extended funk workout. He sticks around to perform his own killer theme for the show. [via YouTube]
comment posted at 11:44 AM on Jun-26-06

John Vanderslice live, b-sides, and demos. Formerly of the band MK Ultra, John Vanderslice, owner of the Tiny Telephone analog recording studio in San Francisco, California, has become a respected record producer and solo artist. He recently produced The Sunset Tree, the newest record by The Mountain Goats, the musical vehicle of songwriter John Darnielle. Darnielle is credited as a lyrical collaborator on Vanderslice's latest, Pixel Revolt. John likes to put it all out there, offering up a meticulous Pixel Revolt recording diary, user's guide, and detailed album credits. JV on NPR. Cooking with JV.
comment posted at 12:55 PM on Mar-27-06

A class-action lawsuit is being prepared against Wikipedia. After the controversy about John Seigenthaler and the exposure of the culprit, a group seeking to sue Wikipedia want people to join them. Can I sue other encyclopedias for publishing out-of-date, partizan, politicized nonsense?
comment posted at 4:30 PM on Dec-12-05

"...so what we got now is Brokeback Mountain." The New Yorker republishes Anne Proulx's orginal short story. Here's a recent Bookslut interview with the author, and a discussion on turning the short story into a screenplay.
comment posted at 4:43 PM on Dec-12-05

"I'm greater than Superman and Batman put together! Before I'm through, I'll have them cringing before the might of Composite Superman!" The mighty Composite Superman is brilliant artifact from the Silver Age of comics. A variation on the theme recently resurfaced in print and on television! Just goes to show that you can't keep a gimmick supervillain down. He's even got his own blog! (via Scans_Daily)
comment posted at 8:26 AM on Dec-2-05

Ho! Ho! Ho! Friend or Foe! Falwell fighting for Holy Holiday! Bill O'Reilly joins the fray! But wait, where does the White House stand on this vital issue?
comment posted at 6:44 AM on Dec-1-05

Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2005. In a speech given on November 10th, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales introduced proposed legislation [pdf] that would go one step further in criminalizing copyright infringement. The RIAA thinks its a good idea.
comment posted at 9:34 AM on Nov-23-05
comment posted at 10:25 AM on Nov-23-05

Indian Techie Flamewar [yes via 204.11.50.136]
comment posted at 1:19 PM on Oct-26-05

Set the Arcs in Motion [Flash game]
comment posted at 11:58 AM on Oct-25-05


Anathema, darknets, master rippers, and currys: The Shadow Internet. [via Volokh]
comment posted at 5:49 AM on Jan-4-05

1837! Victorian England is being terrorised by a bouncing marauder! Who could this masked pervert be? Was he a Lord? Was he a striped stuffed animal? Was he the 19th Century Batman? A Ska band? Why no! It's Spring Heeled Jack, scourge of the rooftops of London, Engerland...(A little pre-Halloween scare for you and a break from Election tedium for those of you requiring one)
comment posted at 7:23 AM on Oct-28-04

By the way, you'll earn 30% of each donation you bring in for the RNC. The people who brought you fun customized campaign posters return for an encore with an affiliate program for fundraising. Rather than relying upon real grassroots fundraising, why not just offer commissions to anyone who'd like to promote your candidate? Just how many ways can the Internet come up with to violate campaign finance law? Ready ... set ... link!
comment posted at 6:42 AM on Jul-7-04
comment posted at 6:46 AM on Jul-7-04
comment posted at 7:33 AM on Jul-7-04

Staking out the high moral ground, a bill would punish those wearing low-riding jeans. It seems that Representative Derrick D. T. Shepherd of Louisiana, a Democrat no less, wants to outlaw low slung pants. Plumbers beware, and stock up on Butt-Crack Caulk! Really, don't they have anything better to legislate besides fashion or holidays?
comment posted at 12:41 PM on Apr-23-04

Jamiel Terry, son of Randall Terry, famous anti-gay and anti-abortion spokesmen, comes out and speaks out in OUT Magazine . His father preemptively responds before OUT hits the stands, claiming his son has sold out the family for $5,000.
comment posted at 5:35 AM on Apr-14-04
comment posted at 11:22 AM on Apr-14-04
comment posted at 1:06 PM on Apr-14-04
comment posted at 2:07 PM on Apr-14-04


ChatNannies: the first real AI bot, or a hoax? Cameron Marlow's private interview with the ChatNannie bot (which was recently reported by New Scientist) reveals that it has perhaps one of the most sophisticated artificial intelligence engines ever devised. So far neither New Scientist nor any of the other media outlets that posted the story have shown the slightest hint of skepticism about its authenticity. Andy Baio's additional research digs up some information that further places ChatNannie's existence in doubt, but how does one conclusively prove that Jim Wightman's bot isn't for real? If it is for real, the New Scientist probably has a much bigger story to report--AI has been solved!
comment posted at 5:36 AM on Mar-24-04

Vans Stevenson, senior lobbyist for MPAA (the Motion Picture Association of America), was the last to revise a letter California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer is to distribute to other attorney generals. Lockyer is the president of the National Association of Attorneys General. - is your government owned? Lockyer receives thousands in campaign contributions from MPAA, RIAA, and '[via: The Register]..corporate and private donations from the major studios, including The Paramount Pictures Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Warner Bros PAC, AOL Time Warner. Senior executives, such as Alan Horn and Howard Welinsky, respectively CEO and senior VP at Warner Brothers..." Adam Eisgrau of P2P United said that "the draft attributed to the attorney general's office contains many significant factual errors, eyebrow-raising metadata, and articulates a very broad expansion in several important respects of product liability and consumer protection law that would have enormous effects..' It's in The NY Times. Slyck has the original document.
comment posted at 3:42 AM on Mar-16-04

How the Left views the Right, as viewed by the Southern Baptist Press. “I don't get it,” said the movie critic, “the people aren't listening to us... don't all those unwashed cretins out there in flyover country understand that we're the ones who tell them what they can watch?”
comment posted at 3:41 AM on Mar-10-04

World's most stubborn man dies. Fell in yard, insisted he was fine.
comment posted at 5:49 AM on Feb-27-04
comment posted at 9:19 AM on Feb-27-04

RIAA sues... (again): The RIAA has just issued a new lawsuit against 532 more "illegal filesharers" only this time, they're also using the "john doe" approach meaning that they dont have to have ascertain your name by strongarming ISPs, but by suing your IP address, they let the judicial system take care of that little detail.
comment posted at 2:47 PM on Jan-21-04

The folks at Gaussboys sell these great Neodymium magnets that are many times more powerful than your ordinary magnet. Cylinder #3 works great for the fridge; I hear Disk #20 is good enough for hanging up your bike.
comment posted at 3:45 AM on Jan-8-04


By Presidential Proclamation, October 12 through 18 will be Marriage Protection Week, which "provides an opportunity to focus our efforts on preserving the sanctity of marriage." October 12 is also the anniversary of the murder of Andrew Shepard. Just as President Bush gave a speech condemning Affirmative Action on Martin Luther King Day and declared the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision "National Sanctity of Life Day," this is, of course, a complete coincidence.
comment posted at 4:41 AM on Oct-7-03

RIAA settles with a disadvantaged, now sick, 12-year-old girl. Read CNN's brief of the settlement and the feel-good synopsis by Gary Sherman, president of RIAA. OR, head over to the UK to learn that the 12-yr-old has been getting sick from anxiety, feels terrible for the fragile artists and lives in a rent control apartment with her family. I'd take the UK's cynicism over the US slant anyday.
comment posted at 6:45 AM on Sep-10-03

"If elected, I will resign." Probably the most unusual campaign promise ever made, this time by a potential candidate in the California governor's recall race -- Brian Flemming argues that Democrats are guilty of bringing a "feather to a gunfight" and is openly courting the vote of people who are "furious about this right-wing recall."
comment posted at 1:07 PM on Aug-6-03
comment posted at 1:55 PM on Aug-6-03

I am John's brain. Amusingly written, yet astutely raising an important point. What exactly are we to do about consciousness? Although clearly different theories abound, one must still ponder whether or not the problem is even solvable in the first place. Where then can we turn to for our solution? Why, bicamerality, of course.
comment posted at 5:54 AM on Jun-24-03

Eyesore of the Month is a monthly look at architectural monstrosities. Sample critique: "A total lack of skill meets a total rejection of history. The result: all the charm of a packing crate and none of the structural integrity." [via Good Experience]
comment posted at 11:48 AM on Jun-9-03


When Vincent Gallo's "Brown Bunny" debuted at Cannes the fuvor over the sex scenes gave way to outright boos. In fact, the filmmaker later apologized for making the film. Or did he? Now, Gallo says the apology never happened and that Roger Ebert made it up. Ebert says he'll respond on-air on his next show.
comment posted at 10:48 AM on Jun-4-03

The bait and switch. A last-minute revision by House and Senate leaders in the tax bill that President Bush signed today will prevent millions of minimum-wage families from receiving the increased child credit that is in the measure.
comment posted at 7:28 AM on May-29-03
comment posted at 10:33 AM on May-29-03
comment posted at 1:44 PM on May-29-03

Rallies in the streets didn't do much stop it. The Florida Division of Cultural Affairs distributed $28M last year to 720 arts organizations. Gov. Geb Bush proposed a 57% cut to $12M. The House proposed $6.6M, a 78% cut. The Senate voted to abolish the fund, and today the House voted 67-44 in agreement with the Senate. Some Florida press are calling it "culture on the chopping block" but arts groups are mobilizing action in hope of some funding miracle.
comment posted at 10:45 AM on Apr-25-03
comment posted at 12:33 PM on Apr-25-03

Jason Pettus is back online. While offline, he was stood up by a swinger, tried out for a reality tv show, had his book courted, then rejected by a publisher, and had six teeth removed. Before there was a Blogger, before "weblog" was even a word, Pettus was chronicling his life and (mis)adventures as a novelist, poet, and porn aficionado struggling to geek out a living in Chicago. I can't believe I went 3 months with no daily dose of Pettus. Thank the stars, he hath returned, with a snappy new design.
comment posted at 6:23 AM on Apr-12-03

The Dream Machine. Did anyone else miss this? The Lucidity Institute has purportedly created a machine, the NovaDreamer, that will help "control and create dreams." Retail price: US $300.00.

I think I'll get one. I wonder if there might be any harmful psychological side effects to always dream lucidly? Oh well.
comment posted at 5:45 AM on Apr-9-03

Influential experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage died in hospital today after an operation for a long illness. If he is known at all, he is known as the director of short films like "Dog Star Man" and the controversial "Window Water Baby Moving", whose graphic portrayal of his first son's birth incited feminist ire and inspired the spoof "Misconception". Those who have no exposure to his work should mourn the loss of a filmmaker whose collagist, primarily non-camera work was colorful and revelatory. (more inside)
comment posted at 5:59 AM on Mar-10-03

The 2003 Sundance Film Festival kicked off last night in Park City, Utah, surrounded by alt-fests and alt-alt-fests as indie film steps center stage. But you don't have to be there to feel like you are, you can gourge on indie coverage or biz news from the trades, aggregated news from major portals or speciality broadcasters ... or just browse through all the pretty pictures.
comment posted at 7:03 AM on Jan-17-03

G.I. Joe is a Real American Hero. Now you can get some new guys for him to fight against.
comment posted at 1:43 PM on Nov-22-02

The joke has become reality.
Albanian and Russian observers sent to monitor American elections... [via Cursor]
comment posted at 4:28 AM on Nov-1-02

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