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January 1, 2011
Public Domain Day
Every January 1 is Public Domain Day, when new authors enter the public domain. Copyright law is "fiendishly complex", but using the generic "life plus seventy" rule, here are some of the authors who enter the public domain today. What could have been entering the public domain today under the pre-1978-era law (Fellowship of the Ring, Dr. Seuss, etc..).. but you can expect further endless extensions of copyright to come. More articles here, here.
posted by stbalbach at 9:43 PM PST - 115 comments

Wrong Side of the Art!
Wrong Side of the Art!: This is the place I post B-movie posters. One sheets, half sheets, daybills, locandines, quads – whatever I find. Also – some random movie stills. (previously, with outdated link)
posted by Joe Beese at 7:59 PM PST - 8 comments

The World at War
Strategy Page offers a brief overview of the state of the planet, concentrating on who is fighting whom, and why. One interesting thing about it is that the most violent and destructive current wars aren't getting a lot of press coverage in the West. Another interesting thing is that the majority of current violent conflicts are driven by ethnic or religious differences, or by a struggle for control over local sources of wealth (i.e. oil or cocaine or opium). [more inside]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:35 PM PST - 44 comments

it's goodnight from him
My Blackberry's not working Laugh track included
posted by the noob at 4:51 PM PST - 47 comments

Digital Compositing
Train of Thought is a short film in paper by Leo Bridle and Ben Thomas. Although it used digital compositing software, all the animation and models were done by hand, not with CGI. The film took approximately nine months to complete, from storyboards through to the final edit. [HD on Vimeo]
posted by netbros at 4:19 PM PST - 9 comments

Rather be alive than remembered
Oakland's Turf Feinz (previously) dance in memorial for Oscar Grant (previously). While the riots in Oakland received more media coverage (previously, previously), there's been several memorial murals painted across Oakland and numerous songs channeling local anger, outrage, observations, lamentations, reflections, and frustration. The news gave the nation broken windows and burning cars, while the town continues peaceful protest, 2 years later.
posted by yeloson at 2:17 PM PST - 11 comments

Win Steve Landsburg's Money
Google is known to ask the following question in job interviews: In a country in which people only want boys every family continues to have children until they have a boy. If they have a girl, they have another child. If they have a boy, they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in the country? Think you know the answer? If so, Steve Landsburg may be willing to bet you up to $5000. [more inside]
posted by gsteff at 2:00 PM PST - 283 comments

1006 Navy Chair
"The design brief had at least one interesting bulletpoint: The chair had to be 'torpedo-proof.'" Making, testing, more testing, history, design, redesign. [more inside]
posted by Paragon at 12:37 PM PST - 26 comments

The List, 1978-2011
January 1, 1985: Earfuls of earrings out, armful of bangles in.
January 1, 1993: Pellegrino out, Crystal Pepsi in
January 1, 2004: Viagra out, Levitra in (MetaFilter previously in)
January 1, 2011: Trolling out, Hacktivism in.

The List: a middlebrow, Beltway elite, mildly insufferable, perennially baffling Washington Post tradition since 1978 (Concave chests out, bosoms in)
posted by silby at 12:17 PM PST - 52 comments

A year of cool comics
A year of cool comics - A breakdown of 365 cool comics from Comics Should Be Good.
posted by Artw at 12:04 PM PST - 8 comments

The rules for long ſ
Hot s&ſ action: Google Books’ optical character recognition is louſy enough to be unable to differentiate f from the ancient long s or medial s, ſ (previouſly). But what exactly were the rules for uſing this now-obſolete glyph? It turns out you almost need a flowchart. (Via)
posted by joeclark at 12:04 PM PST - 38 comments

calling all typography nerds
The End of Warner Bros. The End of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. [more inside]
posted by fight or flight at 9:29 AM PST - 18 comments

That's gratitude for you. Didn't even say goodbye!
Broken Umbrellas
posted by cjorgensen at 9:22 AM PST - 20 comments

Not your typical games.
The Top Ten Experimental Freeware Games of 2010
posted by empath at 8:59 AM PST - 28 comments

227 Words You Can't Say on YouTube.
227 Words You Can't Say on YouTube.
posted by dougrayrankin at 8:58 AM PST - 53 comments

WikiLeaks! It's a wiki that leaks!
WikiLeaks doing too much for you to follow? CBS has got your back with this dandy little compilation: How WikiLeaks Enlightened Us in 2010. Highlights: Obama worked with GOP to kill torture probe. U.S. authorities failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape and even murder by Iraqi police and soldiers. China was behind the online attack of Google. The Obama administration shipped arms to Yemen even as it denied any role in the conflict. Pope Benedict impeded an investigation into alleged child sex abuse. McDonald's tried to delay US legislation in order to help fight a lawsuit in El Salvador. [more inside]
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:06 AM PST - 226 comments
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