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June 30
From all over
the media has recently attacked us
'bout the hangover cure made from extract of cactus
Taken hours before drinking, may ward off the curse...
...but only Charles Osgood has
reported in verse.
posted by britain at 1:07 PM PST - 4 comments
DESERTER
An examination of the Bush military files within the context of US Statutory Law, Department of Defense regulations, and Air Force policies and procedures of that era lead to a single conclusion: George W. Bush was
considered a deserter by the United States Air Force.
posted by Postroad at 1:06 PM PST - 66 comments
The art of being Kuna
- the Kuna, an aboriginal people living off the coast of Panama, are perhaps most famous for their colorful fabric panels called
molas. The
Kuna women wear these embroidered appliques on blouses. The most prized specimens are those that show some sign of wear, such as fading, distress, or stitch marks, indicating
authentic and
traditional molas rather than ones produced for tourists. If you'd like to try your hand at making a mola, the
5th grade class at Highland Park can show you how.
posted by madamjujujive at 12:36 PM PST - 4 comments
Big Fish! 14 year old Bobby Capri Jr. catches a
52 pound striped bass in a kayak off the Atlantic City shore. But he's not the
first kid to reel in a big fish. The adult
world record for striped bass was also caught in New Jersey. So, who here has the best fish story?
posted by MsVader at 11:15 AM PST - 20 comments
Medical Marijuana
is finally going to be addressed by the Supreme Court. What this will come down to is federal law vs. state law. Who has the right to make the final decision?
posted by Dantien at 9:34 AM PST - 32 comments
The Moral Values Party
With thousands of Republicans set to invade the city this summer, high-priced escorts and strippers are preparing for one grand old party. Agencies are flying in extra call girls from around the globe to meet the expected demand during the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 gathering at Madison Square Garden. "We have girls from London, Seattle, California, all coming in for that week," said a madam at a Manhattan escort service. "It's the week everyone wants to work." "It's going to be big," agreed one operator at a midtown escort service.
Now that's what I call moral clarity!!
posted by nofundy at 6:50 AM PST - 64 comments
June 29
Policing Virtual Reality.
Wired reports on
Sociolotron(NSFW). A MMORPG that allows gamers to rob, rape, and kill other players. Being a gamer, I understand that actions in an MMORPG aren't "real" but how far can you take it?
"Lord Foucault is an admitted rapist. He does it on impulse -- for the thrill of it and for the feeling of control he has over his female victims."
Is this any different than running around and killing dwarves?
posted by jopreacher at 12:26 PM PST - 50 comments
Art to Enchant: Some of the works of Shakespeare as interpreted by various illustrators throughout the centuries.
posted by iconomy at 12:14 PM PST - 10 comments
Army to recall former military members
It is good to be too old! "The Army is preparing to notify about 5,600 retired and discharged soldiers who are not members of the National Guard or Reserve that they will be involuntarily recalled to active duty for possible service in Iraq or Afghanistan, Army officials said Tuesday."
posted by Postroad at 11:05 AM PST - 136 comments
"The Atlanta Time Machine
website is dedicated to examining the history of Atlanta, Georgia by comparing vintage photographs of Atlanta with much more contemporary images shot, more or less, from the same perspective of the original photographer."
[via kottke.org]
posted by kirkaracha at 10:54 AM PST - 12 comments
Consider the scorecard. During Clinton's two terms, the median income for American families increased by a solid 15% after inflation, according to Census Bureau figures. But it rose even faster for African Americans (33%) and Hispanics (24%) than it did for whites (14%). The growth was so widely shared that from 1993 through 1999, families in the bottom fifth of the income distribution saw their incomes increase faster than those in the top 5%. By comparison, under President Reagan in the 1980s, those in the top 5% increased their income more than five times faster than the bottom 20%. Likewise, the poverty rate under Clinton fell 25%, the biggest eight-year decline since the 1960s. It fell even faster for particularly vulnerable groups like blacks, Hispanics and children. Again the contrast with Reagan is striking. During Reagan's two terms, the number of Americans in poverty fell by just 77,000. During Clinton's two terms, the number of Americans in poverty plummeted by 8.1 million. The number of children in poverty fell by 50,000 under Reagan. Under Clinton the number was 4.1 million. That's a ratio of 80 to 1.
Clinton's Biggest Gains Not on Conservative Critics' Radar
posted by y2karl at 8:54 AM PST - 44 comments
Amazing Images
- the BBC has a series of 10 pictures of fetuses at various stages of developments. There's no information about how they were obtained, but they are pretty striking. I imagine they must have been taken with one of the new ultrasound techniques (which are apparently called
4D imaging now).
posted by Irontom at 4:40 AM PST - 30 comments
June 28
America's Black Budget - the Manipulation of Mortgage and Financial Markets
Investors benefit from understanding the federal budget, credit policies and covert intervention that drive markets -- often overriding fundamental economics. How has the US governmental apparatus become so powerful in the marketplace and what does it mean to the health of our economy? How unstable is the mortgage bubble and where are the opportunities for investors if the bubble bursts?
posted by willnot at 9:29 PM PST - 21 comments
Looks like a minority liberal government
for Canada. The entire process will have been completed in a single day. The voters used pencils to mark X's on paper ballots, which were stuffed into ballot boxes then counted by hand. Despite the differences in population, is there a lesson here for our southern neighbours?
posted by Turtles all the way down at 8:57 PM PST - 91 comments
njam
... all you have to do is rotate the circle in the middle so it matches with the color of the spheres that come in from the corners. seems simple enough ...
[note: shockwave, loud audio]
posted by crunchland at 8:06 PM PST - 8 comments
Legal abortion
tips the voter balance from Democrat to Republican. That's Larry Eastland's theory.
Abortion has caused missing Democrats--and missing liberals. For advocates so fundamentally committed to changing the face of conservative America, liberals have been remarkably blind to the fact that every day the abortions they advocate dramatically decrease their power to do so.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 7:58 PM PST - 43 comments
Shooting outside of our vision.
Infrared photography is cool - the world looks surreal. But man, it's a PIA. Just keeping the film at the right temperatures is difficult.
So, all of this can be done digitally. I still haven't gotten around to buying the necessary pieces, but in replying to this
Ask MetaFilter question, I remembered eric cheng's page. For your perusal.
posted by filmgeek at 7:34 PM PST - 6 comments
Rude place names.
If you're in England then this is for you. Please bare with us rest of the world, this is what we really like in our humour (at least it in Kilburn). If you're not in England then feel free to use my postcode, NW2. Ooooo,
titter ye not (and who will be the first wag to post "not"?)
posted by ciderwoman at 3:28 PM PST - 30 comments
Mmmmm... girthy.
"I think many people, upon seeing this ad, will avoid buying Ball Park Franks. That's pretty much the acme of terrible marketing. Alternative: I am wrong, and Ball Park has happened on a brilliant - and profitable - means of letting straight men express their sublimated
homoerotic fantasies."
posted by soyjoy at 7:55 AM PST - 77 comments
It's all yours, boys.
The US just announced the handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government, two days early. Paul Bremer has said that he'll be leaving the country soon. Is this truly the beginning of an independent Iraq, or is it simply making way for
John Negroponte to be in charge?
posted by Dipsomaniac at 12:39 AM PST - 130 comments
Irdial Records sues WEA
over copyright infringement. A recent Wilco album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sampled part of the "The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations" 4CD set without the permission of the label. The Cd is simply recordings of mysterious shortwave radio emissions. WEA have settled out of court. (misrepresented on
Boing Boing)
posted by mary8nne at 12:16 AM PST - 29 comments
Spy vs. Spy
sell out! Mountain Dew has roped in the infamous black & white spies to shill their beverage. Quicktime needed to view the commercials.
[via waxy.org]
posted by riffola at 12:00 AM PST - 11 comments
June 27
"The most intriguing story in Washington these days
is a subterranean conflict that reporters cannot cover because some of them are involved. A potent guerrilla insurgency has formed in and around the Bush presidency - a revolt of old pros in government who strike from the shadows with devastating effect. They tell the truth. They explode big lies. They provide documentary evidence..." - William Greider, on what could prove to be one of the defining power struggles of our time. Through a lens darkly, yes. But deniable ? - not plausibly.
As gossip, growing louder now, the shadow-war advances. Unstoppably?
No.
posted by troutfishing at 10:53 PM PST - 40 comments
Digital Snapshot
..
"What does a moment look like? Can snapshots freeze a moment in time? In Digital Snapshot, motion fragments were captured and rearranged in a new visual context via unconventional digital manipulations. A long take camera movement cycle generates a unique 'digital painting.' In this case Digital Snapshot enables the viewer to experience a virtual walk through a beautiful park during summertime."
posted by crunchland at 7:29 PM PST - 11 comments
The BBC Motion Gallery
provides access to film and video clips from the BBC and CBS. Registration required to view the clips, and only small, watermarked versions can be downloaded for free, but an interesting resource all the same.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 6:17 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment
June 26
Game PR Catchphrases: What They Really Mean
Quote: Downloadable content available through our website!"
Indicates: There's going to be new levels, new maps, new everything after the game is out, making the purchase fully worth your $50.
True Meaning: We'll fix the game breaking bug about 3 weeks after the game's out, hope you guys aren't on 56K because it'll be a 186 MB patch. Also, hopefully this game will have some devoted mod/map makers, because the publisher isn't going to release shit. But there are some cool wallpapers to download!
by Corin Tuckers Stalker and Ryan "OMGWTFBBQ" Adams, from Something awful
posted by bob sarabia at 1:13 PM PST - 13 comments
Digital Brown Shirts
Begging the question, WTF?
Hot on the heels of
this micro-
fuhrer furor over the "Gore-Kerry-Hitler" net ad: Gore says something about "Digital Brown Shirts" and some rightwing bloggers adopt it as the new black. (They did decide to remove the swastika from their graphic.) I'm still blinking while I try to fathom this.
posted by StOne at 2:04 AM PST - 47 comments
Bill Gates May Blog.
Always
ahead of the curve, the astute visionary's groundbreaking foray into the virginal internet territory, known by computer hackers as "web logging,"
won't be all business, either. He's expected to share personal details such as tidbits from recent vacations. I for one am trembling on the edge of my seat.
1.0 lacks that special something.
posted by scarabic at 12:48 AM PST - 18 comments
June 25
Zookeeper!
Match 3 or more animals, don't let the clock run out. (Shockwave req'd)
posted by arto at 6:29 PM PST - 10 comments
Should Gaelic be an official EU language? As a happy member of the
SCA I promise to revise all my past snarkiness and negative thinking about the EU if this happens. I will
read (ploddingly and with a dictionary) all those speeches by Chirac and Schroder--as soon as they're translated into Gaelic. If
Maltese can be an EU language of diplomacy, why not Gaelic? While the world around us rages, we'll return to the Middle Ages.
(From crookedtimber)
posted by jfuller at 4:22 PM PST - 27 comments
Street Memes.
a sticker, stencil, or poster that can spread a single image around the world. Unlike traditional graffiti art where each piece is unique, street memes can be copied repeatedly, taking on a life of their own, and spreading through the collective effort of people scattered around the world. [via Eyebeam reBlog]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 6:28 AM PST - 12 comments
The Beecher Family.
'Families that have been influential in American life and culture are often recognizable by their signature names. The Beecher family is an example of one such family whose deep religious convictions and social conscience spanned the nineteenth century and made them prominent historical figures whose impact on religion, education, abolition, reform movements, literature and public life were exceptional. Biographer Milton Rugoff claims that in "two generations the Beechers emerged, along with many other Americans, from a God-centered, theology-ridden world concerned with the fate of man's eternal soul into a man-centered society occupied mainly with life on earth." ... '
posted by plep at 4:02 AM PST - 8 comments
South Korean government bans Kim Sun-Il execution video.
Activates government emergency internet monitoring system. Orders web sites and ISPs to comply.
"Web sites that fail to follow through the instructions will be subject to shut-down or police investigation".
Several South Korean web sites have already been shut down, while other sites, such as Yahoo! Korea, are assisting the government by blocking and censoring their user's email. Meanwhile,
a general strike, massive antiwar protests, and a refusal by airline unions may prevent the deployment and supply of 3,000 South Korean soldiers to Iraq, as well as the rule of the current South Korean government.
Numerous U.S. websites are being blocked, and one of the sites,
Ogrish.com, is
under attack from hackers for carrying
the execution video. (
warning: tragic and traumatic. Windows Media.)
posted by insomnia_lj at 1:39 AM PST - 47 comments
A View from the Eye of the Storm. An Arab intellectual in Europe ponders on the Muslim world and comes to some interesting conclusions. Israel is a sideshow. Iran is the most dangerous country in the world.. in the long run the only way for us (the West) to win the war of terror is to force the problem nations to reform both politically and culturally.
via Steven Den Beste weblog
posted by stbalbach at 12:35 AM PST - 45 comments
June 24
Order 17--sovereignty sure, but...
The Bush administration has decided to take the unusual step of bestowing on its own troops and personnel immunity from prosecution by Iraqi courts for killing Iraqis or destroying local property after the occupation ends and political power is transferred to an interim Iraqi government, U.S. officials said. (including contractors, btw.) Apparently US immunity was used by
Khomeini in Iran as a rallying cry in the 60s. Are Sadr and Sistani listening?
posted by amberglow at 8:47 PM PST - 32 comments
Watch out, Washington, here come the interns.
With cicada season winding down, DC now girds itself for the next wave of invaders: interns from all over the country, descending on the capital to gain valuable government work experience. Some of them have been
notorious, but most of them are fresh, young, wide-eyed, idealistic
go-getters, willing to tolerate
mockery to find a
home, a
job, and maybe some
romance over the summer. Anyone got links to DC intern blogs?
posted by brownpau at 8:26 PM PST - 5 comments
365 Days re-launched -
UbuWeb is pleased to announce the re-launch and permanent home of The
365
Days Project. This legendary project, in which an MP3 a day - of mostly
outsider, novelty, and oddball recordings - was made available for the
public to download over the course of 2003. Briefly taken offline, it
is now
presented here in its entirety, complete with images and vast
commentary on
each selection. The 365 Days Project is part of UbuWeb's redesigned,
newly-named and much-expanded Outsiders section.
via the Rumori list
posted by 2sheets at 4:23 PM PST - 16 comments
Mayday Mystery.
At the University of Arizona, a
series of ads has been placed in the school's newspaper, the Arizona Wildcat. These ads have shown up every year around May 1st for the last 20 years or so, and seem to be cryptic puzzles relating to some sort of secret counterculture organization. Bryan Hance, the former webmaster of the Wildcat, noticed the ads, and has been trying to track down what's been going on ever since. He is chronicling his findings at
www.maydaymystery.org. (via
ARGN)
posted by quibx at 12:38 PM PST - 23 comments
The justice system at work.
A sitting Judge in Oklahoma has been removed from the bench for using a male enhancement pump, pleasuring himself and oiling his nether regions during court proceedings - including an August 2003 murder trial. At least he was awake during the proceedings,
unlike other judges.
posted by thatothrgirl at 11:59 AM PST - 29 comments
Googling old friends.
Searching for old pals online can be emotional (not everyone joins
Alumni or
Friends Reunited) and it can lead to a re-assessment of your own life and were its going.
Here, Pamela Ribon writes up her discoveries and it's one for few pieces I've seen which perfectly evokes the feelings which can develop. [As my source
John says, make sure you read the comments as well.]
posted by feelinglistless at 11:43 AM PST - 29 comments
Safe Play At All Times.
"If you fall into a hole this large on a building site you will not be able to climb out. You may have hurt yourself when you fell and need to go to hospital. But because you are down a hole, it is unlikely that anyone will see or hear you. You may not be found until it is too late." Click on
Dangers and
Read all about it.
posted by jester69 at 11:34 AM PST - 9 comments
"Jesus?" he murmured, "Jesus -- of Nazareth?..."
Pontius Pilate,
prefect of
Judea, is
the only historical figure named in the
Nicene Creed -- Coptic
saint or
eternally damned, his role in the
greatest story ever told has been debated by many of history's greatest minds:
St Augustine,
Dante Alighieri,
Tintoretto,
John Ruskin,
Mikhail Bulgakov,
Monty Python. Unfortunately,
there is very little historical evidence about him. His role in the
death of a
certain charismatic
Galilean healer and
apocalyptic preacher
is still being debated today by
theologians and historians
alike. He is also, of course, the main character of
The Procurator of
Judea, the classic short story (complete text in main link) by
Anatole France. (France's magnificent story has lately been tragically neglected by publishers, even if the author was one of his era's most acclaimed writers in the world -- he won the Nobel Prize in 1921 over Shaw, Yeats, Joyce, Thomas Hardy, D.H. Lawrence, and Proust, and when he died in 1924,
hundreds of thousands of people followed his funeral procession through Paris). These last 2,000 years of fascination with
Pilatus can be explained, some argue...
(more inside, for those unwilling to wash their hands of this post)
posted by matteo at 11:26 AM PST - 37 comments
Check out the giant cancer fighting colon... of science!
"It's part of a national tour to educate people about various types of common and preventable cancers. The 'Check Your Insides Out -- Top to Bottom' tour is full of interactive educational exhibits on colon, lung, oral, breast, prostate and skin cancers."
posted by ilsa at 10:21 AM PST - 4 comments
Superman born in Germany?
It appears that "the boy's mutant DNA segment was found to block production of a protein called myostatin that limits muscle growth."
"Now we can say that myostatin acts the same way in humans as in animals," said the boy's physician, Dr. Markus Schuelke, a professor in the child neurology department at Charite/University Medical Center Berlin. "We can apply that knowledge to humans, including trial therapies for muscular dystrophy."
Or other things...
posted by andreaazure at 10:02 AM PST - 17 comments
Win
a part in the new Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy movie, by submitting to The Guide, a photograph of the place on Earth you think most deserves to survive the planet's inevitable destruction. Deadline:
Friday 25 June 2004.
posted by Blue Stone at 7:23 AM PST - 15 comments
Most gamblers will laugh at the idea that there exists a scientific method to (legally) beat a casino roulette.
Well, it turns out that
they are
wrong.
(
Here is a PDF file with more details, in Spanish)
Mileage may vary
posted by magullo at 6:03 AM PST - 30 comments
June 23
DontvoteRalph.net
"Look at just a few of those who supported Nader in 2000, but see that this year is crucially different: Noam Chomsky, Ben Cohen, Peter Coyote, Phil Donahue, Ronnie Dugger, Jim Hightower, Robert McChesney, Michael Moore, and Bonnie Raitt. In fact, can you think of a prominent supporter from 2000 who supports him in 2004? Are we all members of Naders liberal inteligentsia? Or is the Bush presidency simply such a disaster that we realize there is only one responsible action for real progressives? Despite Mr. Naders inevitable disagreement, we dont think everyone is out of step but Ralph." | So who is supporting Nader?
Some think its the GOP.
posted by skallas at 11:17 PM PST - 41 comments
Microsoft
granted patent for technology that will allow human skin to conduct power and transmit data. Let the jokes begin.
(funny drawing here)
posted by anathema at 3:14 PM PST - 25 comments
America Is
is the weblog of a "freelance photojournalist traveling across the US on a mission to hit all 48 contiguous states." Some nice photos.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:06 PM PST - 7 comments
More kids smoking marijuana than tobacco.
A report by the
CDC reports that more kids now report having smoked pot in the last thirty days than those that reported having smoked a cigarette, and in fact, tobacco usage is showing a steep decline while marijuana usage is showing a steady uptick. This item is just one of many interesting statistics contained within the
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report, taken between February-December, 2003. The war on some drugs wages on...
(via my friend C-Dawg)
posted by WolfDaddy at 10:02 AM PST - 69 comments
BATHORY mastermind Thomas "Quorthon" Forsberg has passed away.
A fine day to die? Mayhaps but maybe also too soon at a young 39. One might think that those interested in the
black stuff would already know of this passing, but like Elton John said, "...then again, no" because I just found out tonight. So there it is, if any of you are listening to "Blood, Fire, Death" while at a grim and blasphemous desk job like me but have missed the news. Reviews are
here of the "band" that took off in a grim way from Slayer and Venom and spawned a grip of younger Scandanavian agents like
these and
them. (mild warning: when reading about black metal you will no doubt read about some people with anti-social ideas.)
posted by asparagus_berlin at 12:03 AM PST - 3 comments
June 22
Gmail 4 Troops!
The idea of matching U.S. troops in need of a low-cost way to communicate with their friends, family, and other loved ones back home with those who have spare Gmail invitations is the brainchild of Wil Wheaton and Drew Olanoff. Gmail4Troops is their project, as a result of their inspiration. The sponsors here, including Whizardries and ISIPP, are here to help further and support Drew and Wil's project, and are honoured to be able to assist Wil and Drew, and to serve our troops serving overseas, and their loved ones back home, in this manner .
posted by konolia at 5:02 PM PST - 41 comments
Not-in-the-NewsFilter
"Is Mr. Ashcroft neglecting real threats to the public because of his ideological biases?" Paul Krugman on the case of William Krar, a terrorist the justice department isn't talking about.
posted by jpoulos at 10:36 AM PST - 32 comments
"You people are stupid."
That's what
Dave Chappelle had to say to a crowd of 4000 plus
after he had walked off the stage in Sacramento in protest.
What got the comic so riled up? According to Chappelle, it was audience members who wouldn't "shut up and listen - like you're supposed to." Chappelle then went on to vent his frustration on the success of his
TV Show and the extra
attention it has brought him.
Chappelle's harshest words thou were addressed to those audience members who worship entertainers and athletes.
"Stop listening to celebrities," he said. "They do what they do for money - that's all. I don't even know why you're listening to me. I've done commercials for both Coke and Pepsi. Truth is, I can't even taste the difference, but Pepsi paid me last, so there it is."
posted by Dreamghost at 10:06 AM PST - 103 comments
Peter Turnley
One of the great photojournalists living today. Peter, (and his twin brother David) have witnessed and documented some of the most important events in recent history.
posted by ig at 10:03 AM PST - 4 comments
After 14 years of highly successful nationwide tours that began the trend of the multi-stage, summer super rock fest,
Lollapalooza 2004 has been cancelled due to low ticket sales. I went to a 1991 show, and attended half a dozen other similar fests in the past ten years, but as I've gotten older I've become a bigger fan of the intimate club vs. the gigantic rock festival. Still, Lollapalooza being cancelled comes as a shock, especially considering the stellar line-up on both stages.
posted by mathowie at 9:15 AM PST - 66 comments
Draft Bruce
"A New York concert promoter has mounted an online campaign to 'draft' Bruce Springsteen to headline a rock 'n roll show to upstage the Republican National Convention on the night it nominates President Bush...." Said promoter Andrew Rasiej, "I've spoken to the manager of REM, to Bon Jovi's people and the rest of the names I've mentioned and they all said, 'if you build it, we will be there.'"
I'm not a big fan, but
this has the potential to be momentous.
posted by mapalm at 8:35 AM PST - 31 comments
Let's say that you have a cell phone, and you need to sound as if you're somewhere else, or you need to get the long-winded person you're talking with off the phone.
posted by Witty at 6:53 AM PST - 7 comments
Status anxiety
'Every adult life could be said to be defined by two great love stories. The first - the story of our quest for sexual love - is well known and well-charted. The second - the story of our quest for love from the world - is a more secret and shameful tale. And yet this second love story is no less intense than the first.'
posted by johnny7 at 3:14 AM PST - 9 comments
June 21
I Like To Watch:
A photographic record of cats transfixed; self-referential cats; cat Witnesses of Our Time; cat onlookers; cats gazing stupidly at infinity; lightly hypnotized brainpan-fried cats; feline couch potatoes; cats afflicted by the staring disease; briefly and easily amused cats; UN observer cats; guilty bystander cats. All in all, an extremely important investigation into the perennial question of how to hold a cat's attention. [
Click on "Cats", funnily enough.]
p 
