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DIY activists have been using
human hair mats to soak up the carcinogenic bunker oil that's been washing onto Bay Area beaches since the
spill. Now they're inoculating the oil-soaked mats with
mushrooms that will break down the oil into harmless compost.
See also: fungi
breaking down plastics,
synthetic dyes and
organopollutants generally.
A bit more from mushroom guru Paul Stamets.
(If you're so inclined, here's a link to donate to the non-profit that coordinated the hair mats.)
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 2:37 PM on November 30, 2007
(46 comments)
The Skeleton Coast, so called for the whale skeletons that littered its shores when the whaling industry was at its peak, is now well known for the skeletons of
shipwrecks.
More. And a
a bit of description here.
Still, the coast is full of life. Each year hundreds of thousands of
Fur Seals come ashore. (Video on this site of baby Fur Seal vs. a jackal.)
(wp)
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 3:19 PM on November 17, 2007
(4 comments)
Catherine Roraback was the only woman in her class at Yale Law School. She was a founder of the Connecticut ACLU, and a president of the
National Lawyers Guild. During her long career she defended labor organizers, immigrants, civil rights organizers, Black Panthers, and maybe most famously, Estelle Griswold before the United States Supreme Court in the case that legalized the distribution of birth control.
She died this week at age 87.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 9:43 PM on October 24, 2007
(20 comments)
Susie Bright comments on the recent
NYT piece about Israeli Nazi-themed porn.
Andrea Dworkin wrote about this genre almost 20 years ago. There's a new film on the topic, which is what inspired the NY Times article.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 12:22 PM on September 6, 2007
(52 comments)
As complete a history of comedian, civil rights activist, and cross-over superstar
Moms Mabley as you're likely to find anywhere
, including audio, from Beware of Blog.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 3:05 PM on August 26, 2007
(7 comments)
The
antidote to the controlled, indoor world of modern kids might be
Adventure Playgrounds. Messy, chaotic, but counter-intuitively, safer than traditional playgrounds, there are only two in the US:
Listen to
Berkeley's Adventure Playground on NPR, or check out some
flickr shots.
In Europe, where they originated
from the rubble of WWII, and in Japan where they are also popular, the importance of play that involves risks is
better understood. There are
hundreds of
Adventure Playgrounds outside of North America.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 3:53 PM on August 18, 2007
(38 comments)
CRUD CRUD, brief reviews from a thrift store record collection. Also,
Gibble Gabble, spoken-word record reviews, from the same collector.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 11:03 AM on June 8, 2007
(6 comments)
For starters, it's not Chinese. It was probably inspired by a British fave called Hoppity, and its immediate forbearer,
Halma was invented by a Bostonian professor/surgeon. There are a number of
variants, but you're probably most familiar with the
ubiquitous star-shaped version. Inevitably, some people take it
too seriously.
Wanna play?
See also,
DIY and
stop motion Fergiliciousness.
(Personally, I prefer
Hex.)
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 8:24 PM on June 3, 2007
(9 comments)
Some might find it difficult to believe that
this was the video to a 1984 number one hit, although it's not surprising to learn that the video was banned (as was the song, leaving the BBC in the uncomfortable position of being unable to broadcast their country's biggest hit on any of its radio or television programs). The
G rated version was directed by
Brian De Palma and, oddly, appeared (in slightly altered form) in
Body Double as a porno film within the movie.
Although
the band had other hits, notably
Two Tribes which was rivaled only by
Land of Confusion for most over-the-top Reagan representation in a music video, they have been beset with problems, primarily relating to
who owns their
name, but rest assured that lead singer
Holly Johnson is doing well in his new calling as a painter.
This astrological chart nicely (?) sums up his entire career.
Incidentally,
Katherine Hamnett, who designed the hugely popular
Frankie Say Relax t-shirts (along with Wham's
Choose Life tees which, ironically, birthed an anti-abortion moto) is still a successful designer, who continues to be active in environmental, HIV eradication, and anti-war efforts.
Anyhow, check out the wacky Relax video. But beware of naked, shaving Roman Emperors.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 1:29 AM on June 2, 2007
(91 comments)
Atomage Magazine, possibly the first fetish magazine, produced by clothing designer turned photographer
John Sutcliffe, who clearly had a special place reserved in his heart for head-to-toe rubberwear.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 10:50 AM on May 31, 2007
(6 comments)
The diminutive but intensely powerful Lillian Leitzel was known for her fiery temper, her
flirtatious banter, and her ability to
spin her entire body in the air while supporting herself by only one hand upwards of 200 times in a row, much like a human pinwheel. She was one of the
Ringling Bros. brightest (and most petulant) stars, famously firing and re-hiring her maid several times a day. She married 3 times - (the second marriage ended after she cut off her husband's finger) but her last marriage was to the purported love her life, trapeze artist Alfredo Codona, a master of the triple back summersault off the flying trapeze who also enjoyed success as a
Hollywood stunt double . Their passionate (if mercurial) relationship was cut short when, during a performance, Lillian's
ring broke, and she fell 45 feet onto a concrete floor. Two days later she was dead. Alfredo, devastated, became reckless and was injured in a fall of his own, cutting short his career. His subsequent marriage to another performer failed, and while meeting with a lawyer to finalize their divorce, he shot her and then himself. Alfredo and Lillian are reunited in death,
buried under a marker of their lives and love.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 12:45 AM on May 9, 2007
(22 comments)
History,
horrors,
leaders,
literary figures,
lots of pop stars and inevitably,
the Last Supper. Don't let the
international conglomerate fool you, wax museums are
still weird. Case in point: beware the
dangers of drugs in wax! And if you can't make it to Russia, you can always check out the
Russian Imperial court, in Texas! (Oops, bye bye
Czar Nicholas!)
My personal favorite of the genre is
Great Blacks in Wax, and I'm not the only one who likes wax museums. The medium has inspired
poetry,
films and
photography.
Check out the
previous threads on the subject, (but alas, it's too late to buy the
Country Music Wax Museum of the Stars.)
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 11:32 AM on April 4, 2007
(15 comments)
Fuck SCRaps,
RON N CANDY,
BIG Baby Jesus,
Rivise Your ideas,
WE'RE ALWAYS WILLING TO GIVE SOMEBODY A CHANCE BUT,
FUCK THE NEDS,
SOCIALISM IN OUR LIFETIME,
READ THE TESTOSTERONE FILES,
I love my Mom,
PASTRAMI DOT.COMMI,
You too deserve HAPPINESS!,
ZAPPA WAS OUR Beethoven,
Aug 2, 1943,
Paul is a weasal,
LED ZEPPELIN RULES,
FUCK YUO...
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 10:39 AM on March 27, 2007
(24 comments)
Billy Tipton (1914-1989) was a moderately popular jazz musician who happened to have been born a girl and lived as a man. In retrospect, some see Billy as a woman pragmatically trying to make it in a male dominated field, others see Billy as clearly transexual. If you like jazz of the 30's and 40's, forget Billy's gender for a moment and take a
listen to Billy's playing! For more backstory,
biographer Diane Middlebrook has posted a
timeline of Tipton's life. More recently, Tipton has inspired jazz ensemble
The Tiptons launches sound, a
novel,
a few plays and butch/punk/queer director Silas Howard is
working on a film.
Oh, and here's
WP.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 5:10 PM on March 19, 2007
(22 comments)
A very brief history of conservatories,
and another.
And little more on
orangeries.
More than just a place to keep plants warm, conservatories peaked in popularity (and size) in the second half of the 19th century. They popped up all
over Europe, wherever
elites wanted to show off their 'exotic' plunders.
Made from more than a million feet of glass, the
Crystal Palace may have been the awesomest of them all: it was initially built to showcase the wonders of Victorian England, and its exhibits included the latest technological innovations, the largest organ in the world, a circus, objects from Australia, India, and other colonial lands, along with the many tropical plant species we usually associate with big glass buildings. The whole thing was later moved to South London and eventually housed a television station and became associated with
a well-known football club. Finally, it burned to the ground in 1936. Coincidentally, Munich's copycat, the
Glaspalast was destroyed by arson as well. (But each year's
catalog of exhibits has been digitized!)
Conservatories flourish in
North America as well.
San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers was assembled from a kit, survived the '06 earthquake, but had to be rebuilt after successive explosions, fires, rotten wood, and a massive wind-storm. (Don't miss their
cooking tips, but watch out – their site may be
NSFW.)
And although they certainly aren't as popular as they used to be, contemporary conservatories
can be found.
Before you leave the world of glass houses, take a quick look at some
photos of Detroit's hidden treasure.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 12:08 AM on March 12, 2007
(14 comments)
In 1971 Delancey Street began with four residents, a thousand dollar loan, and a dream to develop a new model to turn around the lives of substance abusers, former felons, and others who have hit bottom by empowering the people with the problems to become their own solution. With no professionals, no government funding, and at no charge to the clients, Delancey Street Foundation has rehabilitated and provided job skills to thousands of former drug addicts and criminals. They have a successful
moving company, a well loved (although not necessarily
critically acclaimed) restaurant, a thriving
Christmas tree business, and a
partnership with the local state university.
Founded in the heady radical days of the
early 70s, they've had a few bumps along the way,
(cofounder John Maher died of a drug overdose) but they are one of the most well respected models for rehabilitation in
the world. In recent news, San Francisco mayor
Gavin Newsom has been spending a lot of time there.
posted to MetaFilter by serazin
at 11:37 AM on February 25, 2007
(24 comments)
