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November 5, 2009
Knife? Check. Mic? Check. Cow? Dead.
If the worlds of upmarket foodie porn and hip-hop collided, what would you find at the crash site? Behold, The Rhyming Chef, who will threaten local cows and sing you through the preparation of dishes like the Barbuda Get Laid Salad. [more inside]
posted by bicyclefish at 11:19 PM PST - 7 comments

Dawn French interviews Russell Brand
Russell Brand talks to Dawn French about comedy, revealing a peculiar and compelling intelligence apparently gleaned from TV and substance abuse. Part 1, 2, 3, 4 [YT]
posted by mhjb at 10:48 PM PST - 14 comments

Pants Pankuro: Toilet training in Japan
Toilet training isn't quite so easy in Japan. There's squat toilets and western style to consider. Then there are the talking toilets, and toilets that act as electronic bidets. It's no wonder then, that Japanese kids need more than a few hints from mum to master lavatorial etiquette. Meet Pants Pankuro and his friends, in their efforts to master the strange world of the Japanese toilet. [more inside]
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:05 PM PST - 39 comments

Enheduanna, the first poet we know by name
Enheduanna was a priestess and poet in the city of Ur in the 23rd century BC and supposedly the daughter of Sargon the Great of Akkad. She is the first author known by name. Here are a number of her poems in English translation, The Exaltation of Inana, Inana and Ebih, A Hymn to Inana, The Temple Hymns and A Balbale to Nanna. Here are two alternate translations of The Exaltation of Inana, one by James D. Pritchard and an English rendering of Dr. Annette Zgoll's German translation. If you want to learn more, go to The En-hedu-Ana Research Pages.
posted by Kattullus at 8:33 PM PST - 27 comments

Norman Strike blogs the U.K. miners' strike.
Norman Strike is blogging the 1984-85 U.K. miners' strike. From his account of the "Battle of Orgreave" (June 18, 1984): There was the coke works in the distance, squatting on the land and belching out smoke from Yorkshire coal. A black line of police spread across the yellow field in front, with horses to the rear and sides. . . . I began sprinting up the field, trying to avoid the slower lads. I made it to safety but was horrified at what I saw as I looked back down the field. Dogs were biting lads whilst others were being truncheoned by pigs and either led away or dragged away! It was a disgusting sight and one I never thought I’d see in this country. I’ll never forget it but worse was to follow. [more inside]
posted by chinston at 7:42 PM PST - 9 comments

Tie your shoes. Tie your shoes. Tie your shoes and tie your shoes
What kind of eggs you like? (alternate version. Egg standup.)
posted by orville sash at 7:22 PM PST - 28 comments

If rhythm be the food of love, play on
The ASL Shakespeare Project brings us Twelfth Night, fully translated into American Sign Language (ASL) [more inside]
posted by iamkimiam at 7:12 PM PST - 17 comments

What Bogan is that?
Someone has started publishing a handy guide to the Australian bogan. One bogan is not amused. (Previously)
posted by awfurby at 6:23 PM PST - 68 comments

Nitroglycerin in the Pennsylvania oil fields
From The Titusville Morning Herald of June 17, 1866, "Our attention has been called to a series of experiments that have been made in the wells of various localities by Col. Roberts, with his newly patented torpedo. ... The torpedo... is lowered into the well, down to the spot, as near as can be ascertained, where it is necessary to explode it. ... The object of the torpedo is to clean out all the deposits at the bottom of the well."
In the western Pennsylvania oilfields of the second half of the 1800s, "shooters" were men who set off nitroglycerin charges in wells to get the oil flowing again. Tales of Destruction relates stories and legends of this absurdly hazardous job. Additional notes here, in Samuel Pees's Oil History. (Previously)
posted by tss at 5:51 PM PST - 4 comments

"Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound, funny, but it's folk/psych/prog/70s Korean rock to me
Boys dared to grow their hair and girls dared to wear mini skirts and in Korea indecency officers patroled the street with scissors and rulers, publicly cutting hair too long and checking if skirts were too short. Shin Joong-hyung, was there with his 70s hit, Beauty, as were other musicians and artists like Sanullim and the Key Boys. [more inside]
posted by kkokkodalk at 5:35 PM PST - 12 comments

Gladwell for Dummies
Such are the contradictions that seem to riddle not just Gladwell's thinking but the thinking on Gladwell's thinking, and perhaps even the thinking on thinking on that, and it is precisely these slippery but substantive contradictions that have allowed Gladwell to tout his revolutionary "big ideas" without couching them in anything so mundane as a logical, well-supported or otherwise sound argument. Gladwell for Dummies.
posted by defenestration at 3:46 PM PST - 102 comments

This one's a keeper!
Representative Alan Grayson (Dem- Florida) has recently been supporting the Democrats health care plan. Well, 'support' is an understatement. His first speech on the subject outlined the Republicans plan: "Don't get sick. And if you do, die quickly." After mass outrage from the GOP, Grayson made an apology, but not to the GOP. Instead, he apologized to the 44,000 Americans who die each year due to lack of insurance. Yesterday, Grayson took the floor and named the number of people expected to die in each Republican representative district. This time, the Republicans tried to stop him.
posted by Taft at 3:26 PM PST - 169 comments

Softies for Mirabel
In its' third year, Softies for Mirabel is an appeal for handmade stuffed toys to benefit children supported by The Mirabel Foundation. [more inside]
posted by hecho de la basura at 1:56 PM PST - 2 comments

I know what I like.
The Greatest Velvet Paintings of Science Fiction Icons [more inside]
posted by JoanArkham at 1:36 PM PST - 20 comments

Pork and the mean streets of K-town
Don't you want to watch a critically acclaimed chef get drunk and shout about the wonders of ham? (video is NSFW, due to cursing) [more inside]
posted by dnesan at 1:09 PM PST - 38 comments

For those who believe, no proof is necessary.
Does John of God really heal the sick? Or is it just carnival tricks? John of God aka João Teixeira de Faria is a farmer who has been healing people close to his ranch in Brazil for close to 50 years by chanelling the energy of medical spirits. Sometimes he uses visible surgery and sometimes he uses invisible surgery.
posted by pick_the_flowers at 1:05 PM PST - 37 comments

Law and Disorder in the Wild Wild West
Maricopa County Sherriff Joe Arpaio is controversial to be sure. He has been accused of using his office to retaliate against critics, and he has thumbed his nose at the feds. Are his rank and file officers following his lead? What's up with this?
posted by Crotalus at 1:04 PM PST - 71 comments

Justice Denied: Voices from Guantánamo
Released detainees talk about life during and after their unlawful detention in the video Justice Denied: Voices from Guantánamo which is part of an ACLU initiative against the practice of detention without due process that violates fundamental principles of American justice. (Previously)
posted by gman at 12:24 PM PST - 7 comments

Angelyne: as essential a part of the Hollywood landscape as the garish minimall
She's a public mystery, craving attention but shying away from private interviews. She is a human being Andy Warhol would have created, a painter (of) herself. She ran for Hollywood City Council in 2002, joined the much-parodied 2003 California gubernatorial recall election (previously), and most recently tried to become Mayor of Hollywood (archive of her Mayoral site). She is still loved by snark-mongers. She is Angelyne. She is ... [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 12:10 PM PST - 44 comments

It Was a Monster Math!
We all wish we had a teacher like this
posted by Christ, what an asshole at 12:07 PM PST - 50 comments

This match is scheduled for one fall.
Spencer Baum's self-published first novel One Fall explores the world of professional wrestling through the eyes of an up-and-coming star, a taken-for-granted women's division wrestler, a head booker with no authority, and an internet fanboy, all trying to navigate the line between fiction and nonfiction. Baum is now releasing the novel one chapter at a time as a Creative Commons audiobook. The book closely parallels the Monday Night Wars, with sly references to infamous reality-blurring events like the Montreal Screwjob (the subject of an excellent National Film Board documentary you can now watch online) and Bash at the Beach 2000. (mild spoiler inside) [more inside]
posted by roll truck roll at 11:57 AM PST - 3 comments

Shh... Don't Tell Steve
A lot of us have had bad roommates. One man has taken it upon himself to chronicle the buffoonery of his meathead roommate, Steve, via Twitter. [more inside]
posted by reenum at 11:51 AM PST - 80 comments

Flatpots, Fire Corals, and Four Blasters
A Common Nomenclature for Lego Families.
posted by Iridic at 11:39 AM PST - 49 comments

Transgender library worker files lawsuit
Bobbie E. Burnett is suing her employers, the Free Library of Philadelphia, for discrimination. She's been employed there for nearly 20 years, but transitioned to a female gender identity in 2001, at which point she says discrimination set in. "Slurs hurled at Burnett by some staffers include 'freak,' 'man in woman’s clothing' and 'nigger,' according to the suit. On one occasion, when Burnett expressed wishes for a nice weekend to a coworker, the employee responded with, 'Burn in hell,' according to the lawsuit." [more inside]
posted by booknerd at 11:29 AM PST - 63 comments

Three Woolf Moon Shirt
Three Woolf Moon Shirt
posted by odinsdream at 11:16 AM PST - 38 comments

1989: The Lost Year
1989: The Lost Year. "Twenty years after the Berlin Wall came down, the end of the Cold War still inspires euphoria and triumphalism in the West. But even as we lift toasts once again to the victory of 1989, we should re-examine that momentous year. Documents, memoirs, and other evidence that have come to light suggest that for relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, it was also a time of missed opportunity." The first article in a series by Foreign Policy. Also, check out the National Security Archive's Electronic Briefing Books section to access "critical declassified records on issues including U.S. national security, foreign policy, diplomatic and military history, intelligence policy, and more."
posted by cog_nate at 11:02 AM PST - 8 comments

Golden Penny
In March of 2007 Seattle artist Jack Daws (unrelated previously) went to a newsstand in LAX and bought a Hustler magazine, with cash. The cash included a counterfeit penny he had made from 18 Karat gold. Two and a half years later, 2,798 miles away, at the C-Town Supermarket on Manhattan Avenue, in Brooklyn, artist Jessica Reed found the penny.
posted by dirtdirt at 9:57 AM PST - 50 comments

Flight 93: "A Lot of Fun!" --Richard Roeper
[FlickrPoolFilter] Crappy Bootleg DVD Covers: Here, you will find Tom Cruise's hit movie, Pepe Likes Tacos. In this universe, Star Wars features Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dustin Hoffman stars in Lost in Translation; witches, pirates, and hobbits inhabit the same world. Titles are improved upon. Reviews are refreshingly frank (if they make any sense at all). Your DVD may also contain subtitles in French, Chinese, Spamsoc, or Martian. (Don't say there was no warning.) Remember, kids: Piracy Creates Jobs!
posted by not_on_display at 9:55 AM PST - 59 comments

Reasons to wear a helmet
The world's worst bike lanes according to readers of the Guardian. [more inside]
posted by Toekneesan at 8:54 AM PST - 43 comments

Do you want change?
"100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do": Rules 1-50. Rules 51-100. [more inside]
posted by Jaltcoh at 7:49 AM PST - 369 comments

It's also worth 10 achievement points
In Saint's Row 2 (a GTA-ish game for the PC and current-gen consoles), your character sings along whenever a-ha's song "Take on Me" plays on the radio. Here's all six player voices edited together to sing along at the same time. [SLYT] [more inside]
posted by CrunchyFrog at 7:39 AM PST - 56 comments

"Richard may lie to all the other characters but within his solo speeches he always tells the truth."
"So, 'now'--ooh, what a wonderful first word, right in the beginning of the play. 'Now.' Not in the past. Not a history play. Now." Ian McKellen breaks down Richard III. [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha at 7:32 AM PST - 46 comments

Google answers data transparency concerns with Dashboard
This morning, Google launched a new feature called "Google Dashboard" that lets users view (and in some cases control,) what data is being stored on a range of more than 20 Google services, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Web History, Orkut, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, Reader, Alerts and Latitude. [more inside]
posted by zarq at 7:18 AM PST - 59 comments

Test Card music and other delights.
BBC test card music and other delights. Relive those rainy summer afternoons when the only thing to watch on television was a photograph of a girl playing noughts and crosses with a clown to an easy listening soundtrack who would later be fictionalised for Life on Mars. Join the club!
posted by feelinglistless at 4:16 AM PST - 18 comments

Tiny books in Russian
Tiny books in Russian and some contents at this site. (Previously)
posted by twoleftfeet at 2:49 AM PST - 18 comments
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