MetaFilter

Buy your Anthrax Box today! Oh, like this is gonna help. PAFITH!
posted on Oct-24-01 at 6:58 AM

When it rains, it pours... "Emily Couric, who kept her seat in the state Senate and became head of the state's beleaguered Democratic Party after learning she had cancer, died Thursday. The sister of NBC's Today show co-host was 54." ..I'd been wondering why Maria Shriver was substituting for Katie this week. I guess now we know.
posted on Oct-18-01 at 7:07 AM

"They control culture. They control ideas. And I think the revolt of Sept. 11th was about 'F--- you! F--- your order'." Maybe Oliver Stone is an idiot. Don't kill the messenger here, but I think he's on to something... [more inside]
posted on Oct-15-01 at 11:38 PM

GIVER BEWARE! If you're gonna give, don't get taken. The New York branch of the Better Business Bureau has some useful material on how to spot scams over legitimate charities. "As awful as it sounds, there may be those that seek to profit from this misery." Useful tips and information are also available at Give.Org, the Urban Legends Resource Center and the Internet Fraud Complaint Center. Maybe I'm just too cynical, but even the legitimate charities sound like scams to me. Why are there so many "disaster relief funds" forming? Wouldn't it be easier if there was just one place to give? Why all these middlemen?
posted on Oct-10-01 at 4:47 PM

"What's going on Doc?" "You're having an origin son." I dig this. Shame it's no longer being updated. Though the premise is short-sighted, in some ways it had the potential better realized with Argon Zark. Do you want to be a super-hero? Well, you gotta lotta things to consider. What is your super power? Who is your hero? Which is better: Flight or Invisibility? Do you have to wear spandex? and Who said anything about being a superhero?
posted on Jul-5-01 at 1:44 AM

Big Brother 2 goes pay. They're tripping on themselves before they even get out of the starting gate. At the Official Site they've recently reported they will charge for live Internet feed access after the first few days. The obsessed and addicted are none too pleased. What do you think? Shrewd business move or greedy reaction by clueless network executives?
posted on Jul-4-01 at 10:34 AM

CBS dials 911 4 BB2... Arnold Shapiro (who helmed Rescue 911, Scared Straight, & more) has been announced as Executive Producer, in hopes of resusitating what critics pronounced DOA last year despite above satisfactory summer ratings. Some of new developments sound promising. Some don't. (MORE)
posted on Jun-29-01 at 10:36 PM

A Boy And His Dad... "Bread and butter isn't just a food. It's a metaphor ...Whatever it is that resets you.." I don't want a child of my own, but it's nice to experience glimpses of this father & son dynamic duo thang from Henry's Diary so I know what I'm missing. Thanks for the link, Dreama. And yeah, this was briefly mentioned a year ago, but it's overdue for its due. I like to imagine I'm a tough nut to crack, but this just made me melt. "I wish I was the person my son made me feel I could be when I'm in his arms." everybody! 1-2-3! aaawwwww! now that's sweet!
posted on Jun-27-01 at 9:10 PM

You have a better chance being struck by lightning. Or do you? Well it may depend on who you are, where you are, and whether or not you play golf.
posted on Jun-26-01 at 6:58 AM

Phone home on the road: GO TO JAIL. In New York it will soon be official - dialing and driving don't mix. Thirty-nine other states may also follow suit.
posted on Jun-26-01 at 5:32 AM

So much for grocery shopping online... The last online grocer in Texas, Grocery Works, threw in the towel.
posted on Jun-26-01 at 5:03 AM

Mark Twain - Back from the Dead! I just caught this on the Jim Lehrer News Hour. The tale behind the tale A Murder, A Mystery, and A Marriage. A complete, unpublished manuscript of Mark Twain has surfaced, and after 125 years will finally find its way to the pages of the Atlantic Monthly this summer.
posted on Jun-25-01 at 9:09 PM

Trooper Clerks "Just because they serve you, doesn't mean they like you."
posted on Jun-24-01 at 2:52 AM

Arbitron just sent me a dollar..? I've been invited to participate in a once (sometimes occasionally twice) in a lifetime opportunity. No wonder our radio waves are so screwed up. Station owners think they learn what the public wants through a short-sighted random process, which obviously doesn't work. What's most amusing to me is they're buying my opinion for a buck. Even jury duty was kind enough to pay me six!
posted on Jun-19-01 at 7:02 PM

Recreational use of Ritalin is something we have known about for at least seven years. Yet many adults still find it acceptable to medicate young people, then have the gaul to respond in shock when, given the chance, many young people will opt to medicate themselves.
posted on Jun-18-01 at 3:59 PM

As to be expected the dumb critics are ripping Lara Croft to shreds; I mean really tearing it a new orifice. Which means of course I must see this film. Major argument against? A hack plot designed only to engender scenes of mindless violence. Duh. It's not supposed to have emotional impact. It's just supposed to be fun. Did any of these critics actually play the game? What frightens me though is that Roger Ebert enjoyed it... I'm so torn...
posted on Jun-16-01 at 4:38 PM

"If I don't do this, who can?" Courtney Love, a unionist? She may be the only one to put the Music Industry to task, and challenge practices that enslave struggling artists, turning shining stars into short-lived comets. That is, provided she doesn't just settle out of court. D'ya think she can do it? Or is this just more smoke & mirrors?
posted on Jun-8-01 at 2:01 AM

Wednesday Week was/is/can be again a "paisley pop" mostly female rock band which I've known about since the early 90s but just recently found them again. Or rather, they found me. I'm so excited to finally know what happened to them. I just had to share. Their music and lyrics are serious, dark, emotive and thought-provoking, with rays of hope shining through the murky waters of life. You can hear them online, and their website's a cryptic but intriguing introspective on the ups and downs of a struggling group in a harsh and unyielding industry. BTW, Kelly Callan is one of the top female drummers of all time. No lie.
posted on Jun-8-01 at 1:07 AM

It's raining cats and dogs this summer! GEEZ! Pearl Harbor, Shrek, and The Mummy Returns are already in the theaters. This weekend we get Swordfish, Evolution, and even Atlantis: The Lost Empire in limited release. What's next? Oh nuthin. Just stuff Angelina Jolie's been kicking around, Eddie Murphy's little pet project, something Jay & Silent Bob tossed off in the shower, Stephen Spielberg's thoughtful adult film coupled with his token bloodfest for the kiddies... Final Fantasy, Planet of the Apes, Kiss of the Dragon, a painfully predictable looking sequel to American Pie, a predictable but funny-lookin' sequel to Rush Hour, and a predictable sequel to Scary Movie, and the ever present SO MUCH MORE! I skipped half the movies coming out but those are the highlights. Is this gonna be the best summer blockbuster festival ever thrust upon the world's populous, or are we true fans of cinema about to once again take it up the ass? Whatcha think?
posted on Jun-6-01 at 10:11 AM

"Oh sure, but can you use the word in a sentence?" The 47th annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee is in full swing, and ESPN2 will broadcast the final round Thursday 7:30 to 9:30 pm ET. Yeah ya hoid me! A sports netwerk's gonna broadcast a spellin' bee! Ya gotta problem wit' dat?
posted on May-30-01 at 1:22 AM

Women Rockin' 4 Women 2001 Festival - If you don't live in Dallas Texas USA, you have two days to get here. If you do live in the Lone Star state, you don't want to miss this. Five Clubs. Over 25 beautiful, talented, guitar-carrying women. One night. Proceeds for this benefit go towards helping the victims of domestic violence. We have great music every weekend in Deep Ellum, but this event's gonna be heaven.
posted on May-17-01 at 9:22 PM

My friends and fellow citizens: I cite these facts and figures to make it clear that America today is stronger than ever before. Our adversaries have not abandoned their ambitions, our dangers have not diminished, our vigilance cannot be relaxed. But now we have the military, the scientific, and the economic strength to do whatever must be done for the preservation and promotion of freedom.

From the speech that President Kennedy would never give. Contrary to Oliver Stone's version of the facts, doesn't read to me that Jack was backing off on Cuba or Vietnam.
posted on May-17-01 at 9:46 AM

Texas student kills self after holding class hostage. I brought that up in order to bring this up: the Colorado Governor commissioned ten people to get together and write up a 200 page report about what actually happened at Columbine, and then tell everybody what we're supposed to do about it. I'm reminded of that scene in The Matrix when Neo notices DeJaVu the black cat. And for those tired of talking about this pathetic school shooting crap, I can sympathize. Here's a cute story about Thud the dumb grey cat.
posted on May-15-01 at 9:12 PM

This IS the scientific definition of the whammy... The Scully Marathon is coming soon to an area near you - worldwide, fans of the television series The X-Files are getting together to watch ten of the best shows ever made, as well as raise money and awareness for neurofibromatosis. Don't miss the boat, Starbuck.
posted on May-11-01 at 11:40 PM

Find out how many radio stations in your area are owned by the same company. Here in Dallas Texas Clear Channel owns six. Then there's four other radio stations owned by Susquehanna Radio which used to be owned by AM/FM Incorporated but they merged with *guess who* Clear Channel last year. So it looks like Clear Channel either directly or indirectly controls almost a dozen radio stations in north Texas alone. How much control do they have over your airwaves? Ever wonder why radio stations all sound the same? Cuz they ARE the same!
posted on May-5-01 at 4:21 AM

It's almost over! and just a few thousand moments too late for most. Unfortunately Survivor 2 isn't the end. With the impending writer's strike still looming over Hollywood, reality programming will become even more commonplace, and may sound the death knell for television. Unless they actually start getting good. [more]
posted on May-3-01 at 7:27 AM

Can advertisers get more stupid? I hope so. I find this entertaining. Bud Light is carding people at the door to their website. Refrigerator door, that is! Type in your birthdate, and enter the fridge. And no fair cheating you juvenile delinquents! Anyone wanna share other Stupid Advertiser Tricks they've found?
I don't know why I care. I drink vodka.
posted on May-2-01 at 11:27 PM

.the .product will make you happy. It might make ya cream yer pants. .the .product "demonstrates 'realistic' and detailed graphics are possible even within the limitations of the 64kb competition." Over a gig of data compressed into this small a space? The potential is frightening.
posted on Apr-20-01 at 9:32 AM

Apathyology: Ten or twelve years ago, back when I was in high school, some friends of mine were gonna start something called the National Apathy Society. I say were cuz we never did. That was the joke. We were all members of a club about apathy but we were too apathetic to... well you get it don't you? You don't? Well I don't care. My point is, and I do have one, I am highly suspect of any organization which claims to be apathetic but they actually have a website. Especially since I didn't think of doing it first.
posted on Apr-20-01 at 4:57 AM

Arthur Stace. Emperor Norton. These were not Great Men, but they were great men. Eccentric. Inspiring in a way. I have always found an affinity for people who walk to the beat of a different drummer. People with a vision underappreciated in their own time. Someone people would never truly understand. I'd like to learn of more people cut from similar mettle, but what does one put in a search engine? What do you call people like this? Can you think of other eccentrics of history? (and yeah I already tried "eccentrics of history" but search engines bring up nothing of note).
posted on Apr-18-01 at 4:42 AM

Emo. ...Metal. Grunge. Alt. Rock. Pop. Folk. Rap. Blues. Rhythm & Blues. Country & Western. Gaze & Veg. Goth. Trance. Edge. Old School. New School. East Coast. West Coast. Pre-Punk. Post-Punk. Punk. Indie. Core. Emocore. Hardcore Emo. Post-Emo Indie Rock. Post-Emocore Pre-Punk Apocolyptic Pop Jizz Softcore Jesusfreak Liquid Splatter Metal. Guitar-Driven Jazz-Infused Lite-Oasis Serial Death Addictive Jump Swing Rap Twang-Blues... [Insert a very long blood curdling scream here.]
posted on Mar-30-01 at 5:43 AM

Donate a Mammogram! My aunt sent me this URL so be nice. =) If you go there and click on the button, a woman gets a free mammogram at no cost to you. Corporate sponsors pay for it. Only one free mammogram donation per person. Sure it's corny but it's for a good cause. Besides, it is every man's sacred duty to do what he can to insure all the world's breasts are in top form. =)
posted on Jan-6-01 at 9:21 AM

"I've been declared dead by better coroners than you!" Just when I'm about to once again lose faith, this happens. Jay Sherman is back. Jon Lovitz's lovingly annoying show The Critic has been canned by three (count'em) THREE major networks. Now, it's the Internet's turn! May the fourth time be the charm for this guy. All balding, fat men with big mouths and ex-wives rejoice! We've got a reprieve!
Warning: above links require shockwave but you already knew that. Gee, I hope the link works. If it doesn't, try this one then look around for a bald guy with a big nose. No celebrities were harmed in the making of this MeFi post.
posted on Dec-28-00 at 9:53 PM

Tired of Christmas music? I reckon so. I sure understand. Still, trust me on this. You're in for a treat. We're Just Three Kings gives me goose pimples on the back of my neck every time I hear it. Most know about mp3c, but few wanna dig around in there. It's like falling into a record bin big as Cleveland. Here let me help you. I'm recommending only sure-things here - Tamashiro's What Child Is This is straight-forward, no-nonsense, feelgood Christmas fare. Liona Boyd's instrumental guitar is heavenly background music that would warm the heart of the coldest Grinch. If you find yourself surprised with a need to have free Xmas music real fast, it's just a pooter away, Santa Baby.
posted on Dec-24-00 at 1:24 AM

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU TOO! It's getting increasingly more and more difficult to find decent Bloom County and Outland fan links. Like the rest of the 'Net, they're being replaced with ebay clones and page cannot be found errors instead of actual content oriented sites paying homage and tribute to... I know. Berke Breathed quit several years go. I should be able to just let it go. So I'm nostalgic, so sue me. I started looking for links that weren't broken, and came across... Who the heck is Lee Vasche ???

"Excuse him.. he's had too many Shirley Temple Cocktails." --Portnoy.
posted on Dec-22-00 at 11:23 PM

"Hey there, sport! What's all the racket?" "It's The Stupid SIMulated Human Pet Tricks, Daddy!" No really this is good. Stupid. But good. If anyone's ever wondered what some of the characters from The Sims would look like in hokey live-action Not Ready For Television commercials, now's your chance!
This site requires the Quicktime and Flash Player plug-ins. Be careful. This site crashed my computer once.
posted on Dec-11-00 at 4:24 AM

Crunch all you want! We'll give you food poisoning!
"The corn has not been approved for human consumption..!" Run for your lives! The nation and the world faces a crisis today as Cheetos and Funyuns supplies drop to critical lows, and the competition among snack foods is fierce! The nation is suffering a Cheetos crunch! This has got to be one of the funniest melodramatic pieces ever to come out of the DeMoN. Just pretend Dan Rather is reading the copy to you. Or better yet, Walter Cronkite.
posted on Dec-9-00 at 9:13 PM

Another one bites the dust.. - Riffage is dead. Long live Riffage. Just as well. I never liked their webdesign anyway, but that's a matter of personal taste. I hate to see another soldier for "uncharted territories" fall prey to reality.
posted on Dec-8-00 at 10:00 PM

Eight Sword Myths by Glenn Pettit is a relaxing unobtrustive and straight-forward read for those who like to collect, brandish, or just stare in awe at c-c-c-cutlery. And who doesn't? This document dispells certain modern misunderstandings but also tips a hat to timeless legend itself.
posted on Dec-6-00 at 12:53 AM

A Modest Proposal for preventing the tongues of the American people from being a burden to their owners and country, as well as encouraging them to become more beneficial to the public interest. I still hate guns, but dear old Jon would have been proud.
posted on Nov-26-00 at 7:55 PM

Notice of Revocation of Independence appears to be spamming all over email. I found it in several listbots and egroups, and after some intensive searching I think I may have found the original source but I'm guessing and may be wrong. Very funny, very telling, and with more than a grain of wake up call to it. Considering how we take our freedom for granted in America, I question whether or not we really deserve it any longer.
posted on Nov-22-00 at 8:49 PM

We the Public Press.. In order to form a more perfect newsmedia, establish reader distrust, avoid few legalities, provide for the common deafndumb, promote the grocery store impulse buy kiosks, and secure the Blessings of Boldfaced Lying to ourselves and our Readership, do completely avoid and ignore this annoying Code of Ethics...
posted on Nov-19-00 at 6:37 AM

It's that time of year again... Here's a friendly reminder. When you go caroling this holiday season, be sure to get all your copyrights in a row before venturing about the neighborhood. You never know when someone might turn you in. [caution, the preceding was laced with sarcasm]
posted on Nov-18-00 at 7:42 AM

More Fun With the Electoral College! What's most disturbing isn't that it may be weeks or months before we actually know who won the election. I mean who cares? Neither of these guys represent you. They both suck. The disturbing part is that it is actually possible the voices of hundreds of thousands of Florida voters might not be heard at all!
posted on Nov-16-00 at 10:38 PM

I know it's short notice but if you're in one of these cities, and agree that the popular vote of the people should be honored and upheld, there's gonna be a lot of spontaneous protests happening tomorrow afternoon.
posted on Nov-10-00 at 5:00 PM

"Mister President! Duck!" - I've always wanted to say that. =)
posted on Nov-9-00 at 12:15 AM

My vote doesn't count. [more]
posted on Nov-8-00 at 8:15 PM

Damn! They sure are pushing this obnoxious cuecat thing, aren't they? Informercials galore. I don't know about your area, but I can hardly turn on the tv anymore without seeing how "Digital Convergence" crap is going to better our lives. Now they're trying to give this cat thing away. Let me get this straight: you swipe the cat over any barcode, and it takes you straight to a commercial for what you just bought. No more need for silly content on the Web! Now the Internet can be nothing but banner ads 24 hours a day! Ooh! Sign me up! *rolls eyes*

By the way, Happy Voting Day. =)
posted on Nov-7-00 at 4:56 AM

Angela Gunn repeatedly justified her place in Yahoo Internet Life magazine as one of the most talented brains in history ever to put words together and form coherent sentences. Back in '98 she logged off YIL. But she's back! And here I was about to cancel my subscription.. not now! not to mention she's both incredibly intelligent AND drop dead gorgeous! wakka wakka wakka! December 2000's YIL (no link available) initiates Angela Gunn's return with a column that will focus on Net ethics. Ebert, Katz and Gunn. After all these years you think they finally found the right combination?
posted on Nov-5-00 at 1:05 AM

The results are in. Blood and gore killed the video star. Laughable, eh? That $40K and a bundle of sticks could out-perform $10M and Hollywood's bottomless ketchup bottle?
posted on Nov-3-00 at 10:16 PM