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Suzannah Lessard, Why Do We Hate The Suburbs?
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:29 PM PST - 101 comments

Just as the quest for the perfect NCAA Basketball tournament bracket is about to end for this year, you can still try your hand at the perfect population bracket. Which city will win? More importantly, how well can you do so that you can humblebrag about it in the ensuing thread? One of a zillion data visualizations available via the US Census Burueau's Data Visualization blog. [Previously]
posted by not_on_display at 7:00 PM PST - 7 comments

Five new species of the tiniest (and cutest) frogs have been named with adorable pictures of 11-14mm frogs on fingertips. And yes, those are their actual scientific names of three in a new genus Mini. Congrats, scientists - somewhere, Gary Larson is smiling. The actual paper argues that evolution of miniturisation is driven by both contingency and determinism.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:41 PM PST - 15 comments

New Yorker, on the 'unexpected philosophical depths of the clicker game Universal Paperclips': “As a contrarian, one reason I wanted to make a clicker game,” Lantz told me, “is that they’re considered gutter culture. They’re easy to make, and they tap into a very virulent, addictive quality, like slot machines.” The Universal Paperclip FPP.
posted by Wordshore at 2:27 PM PST - 41 comments

Today is Respect Your Cat Day.* Here are 50 Fascinating Facts About Cats (Kirsten Fawcett, Mental Floss).


*like they need more obsequiousness from humans
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:58 PM PST - 63 comments

Equitable Cinematography: Director Lexi Alexander on the Politics of Focus Interview by Mary Jo Watts
posted by Think_Long at 1:57 PM PST - 22 comments

The NCAA system extracts wealth from collegiate athletes, many of whom are minorities, enriching a few while refusing to allow the players whose labor the system is built on to profit. We had a recent demonstration of this with Zion Williamson's injury due to a failed Nike sneaker (which he was required to wear due to a contract between Nike and his school), which many feared would derail his chances at going pro (and set off speculation that he would sit out the NCAA Tournament to protect himself.) Now, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is presenting the case that it's time for this to end. (SLSports Illustrated) [more inside]
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:32 PM PST - 75 comments

Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower. A poem by Rainer Maria Rilke. Also A Loving-Kindness Meditation by Sylvia Boorstein. and then Beannacht, a poem by John O'Donohue. [more inside]
posted by storybored at 10:21 AM PST - 22 comments

“The importance of the progressive beachhead on Financial Services may not be felt this year or even this session, but after the next financial crisis. Having progressives willing to carry forward structural responses to financial misconduct could make a huge difference. “In 2008 the public was alerted and alarmed and angry to do something, but there wasn’t the Washington leadership necessary,” says Marcus Stanley of Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition formed to bridge that gap. “It’s unpredictable what would happen in another crash, but if there is one, we won’t miss the opportunity again.” The House Financial Services Committee—long a landing place for pro-bank Democrats—now includes AOC and a flock of leftists. And Maxine Waters is its new chair. (American Prospect) What Will It Take For The Progressive Congressional Caucus To Win? (Splinter)
posted by The Whelk at 9:59 AM PST - 19 comments

Since the 1980s, fragments of orange Garfield telephones have washed up on a beach in France. A lost shipping container had long been theorized, but the source of les téléphones Garfield has finally been found.
posted by Etrigan at 8:26 AM PST - 74 comments

are your links too short? not enough 'a's? the solution to your problem is here. [more inside]
posted by polyhedron at 7:00 AM PST - 35 comments

An Al Jazeera journalist posed as a gun rights activist travelled to Washington with the Chief of Staff of Australia's ultra-right one nation party. From the Al Jazeera article: Muller, Al Jazeera's undercover reporter who posed as a gun-rights campaigner, introduced One Nation's Chief of Staff, James Ashby, and the leader of its Queensland branch, Steve Dickson, to the NRA, and travelled with the pair to Washington, DC last year. [more inside]
posted by aussie_powerlifter at 1:17 AM PST - 58 comments