Oxford University has just announced that they and Brigham Young University have developed a technology to read the previously illegible papyri of Oxyrhynchus collection. More info here and here.
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 2:10 PM on April 17, 2005 (26 comments)

Dye pets! That's right, for those of you who have always longed to color your furry friends in all the shades of the rainbow, Pet Ésthe rides to the rescue. Just look at those happy doggies! And when you've feasted your eyes why don't you head on over to one of their affiliated stores to watch the canine runway fashion show (embedded vid and awesome music)
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 4:22 PM on April 4, 2005 (35 comments)

The Nature of Normal Human Variety A talk with Dr. Armand Leroi (his website). "Almost uniquely among modern scientific problems [the problem of normal human variety] is a problem that we can apprehend as we walk down the street. We live in an age now where the deepest scientific problems are buried away from our immediate perception. They concern the origin of the universe. They concern the relationships of subatomic particles. They concern the nature and structure of the human genome. Nobody can see these things without large bits of expensive equipment. But when I consider the problem of human variety I feel as Aristotle must have felt when he first walked down to the shore at Lesvos for the first time. The world is new again." (via Arts & Letters Daily)
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 4:58 AM on March 29, 2005 (17 comments)

Xenolinguistics primer. The study of extraterrestrial languages is rather impractical in this day and age, but potentially useful in the future. That didn't stop Bowling Green State University from offering a course in it. The course website has many interesting links to sites discussing such invented tongues as ilish, fith, ro and kebreni. [Note: Some of the links on the course website are broken]
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 3:29 PM on March 6, 2005 (17 comments)

Peter Benenson founder of Amnesty International has passed away. It all started with a letter and grew into one of the most influential human rights organization in the world. Here is a video tribute from Amnesty International (real player only, I'm afraid, though there is a transcript)
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 8:55 PM on February 26, 2005 (13 comments)

Roman Emperors, there sure were a lot of them. This online encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on the autocratic rulers of Rome I have come across. It ranges from Augustus to Constantine Dragases, the last emperor in Constantinople. It doesn't include them all, but has most, including my two favorites, Basil II, the Bulgarslayer and Antonius Pius. You can also find the one least deserving of fame, the one with the silliest name and, of course, the completely batshit ones. Also on the site, maps, battles, coins and everybody's favorite subject, genealogy.
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 6:15 PM on February 14, 2005 (21 comments)

Why don't you buy a pen from the good people of Pen Island.
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 4:29 PM on February 9, 2005 (18 comments)

Yulia Timoshenko (her personal website) is the new premier of Ukraine (bio). She is the hippest politician I've ever laid my eyes on. Here is a picture of her giving a speech to the Ukrainian parliament when it approved her nomination to the premiership. Here's another picture of her being insufferably hip. Russia has issued an international arrest warrant for her through Interpol, but who cares when she's this cool? Don't you wish you had politicians who dressed like that? Strike that. Don't you wish you had politicians who could dress like that?
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 9:09 PM on February 5, 2005 (89 comments)

Gay or Eurotrash? This fab game from Blair Magazine one of the early web's greatest zines, the first issue published a decade ago. They also made the Lesbian or German Lady?. Lest you think that all they did was quizzes here are some articles: Goomiliation, Masters of the Universe, How Stella Got Her Jazzy Back and Rock on GoldDust Woman (I don't remember The World Wrestling Federation ever being that interesting). It's all great, and since only seven (plus one) issues ever came out, it'll take all too short a time to read.
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 2:51 PM on December 16, 2004 (14 comments)

Carnival by Steve McCaffery (wikipedia entry). One of the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poets. Their late 70's, early 80's magazine can be found archived here and makes for interesting reading. However, I suggest you start off by looking at the two beautiful panels that comprise Carnival. They're both visual art and poetry. There's also a terrible pun hidden in one of them if you can find it. But if you hunger for more, here's an interesting critique by Marjorie Perloff [note: The Carnival panels are too big for any screen, but they can be shrunk by hitting "map"]
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 6:01 PM on December 5, 2004 (18 comments)