November 23, 2015

Maysles Meets American Psycho

In 1993 the BBC produced a television series known as "From A to B: Tales of Modern Motoring." One episode in particular stands out for shining a rare light on the peculiar practice of badge engineering cars to reflect subtle gradations in status. The result is somewhere between the Maysles' Salseman and Easton Ellis' American Psycho.
posted by basicchannel at 10:48 PM PST - 37 comments

Want the Best Thanksgiving Stuffing? Consider the Oyster

"Thus far we've discussed the history of adding oysters to stuffings. But historic precedent doesn't automatically equate with deliciousness. In the case of oyster stuffing, though, I'm telling you now that deliciousness is guaranteed." (Daniel Gritzer - Serious Eats)
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 9:30 PM PST - 35 comments

#myH1Bstory

November 29th marks the 25th anniversary of the US H1-B visa, a highly-coveted three-year employer-sponsored visa for skilled workers that can eventually lead to a Green Card - eventually. SmithsonianAPA presents a collection of art about the H1-B experience, primarily from people that have held or are holding H1-B visas (mostly South Asians, since Indians make up the majority of H1B applications), as well as some H-4 dependent spouses. H1-B visa holders are also sharing their experiences on Twitter. (previously)
posted by divabat at 8:18 PM PST - 23 comments

The 6 Awkward Conversations You’re Dreading, And How To Deal With Them

This time of year, many of us will make a pilgrimage to see our families. Halls will be decked, candles will be lit, and ancient stories will be told. Hopefully everything for you will be hugs, warmth, light, and reconnection with the people you love. But if you are dreading dealing with that one jerk relative or bracing yourself for an onslaught of intrusive questions and and awkward topics, here’s a guide to keeping your cool and choosing your battles when everyone around you is making it weird.
posted by sciatrix at 8:07 PM PST - 101 comments

The Secret History of the Mongols, updated in musical form and annotated

The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving Mongolian-language literary work, and is regarded as the single most significant native Mongolian account of Genghis Khan. Linguistically, it provides the richest source of pre-classical Mongolian and Middle Mongolian, and while you can read it in various translations, it can be quite a slog. That's why Mongolian rappers Gee of/with Click Click Boom team up with Jonon to present a musical version of Mongolian History, in Mongolian. Luckily, there are English subtitles to this video, but there's still a gap between knowing the words and knowing what they mean. With that, you can find a collections of links as annotations below. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 7:38 PM PST - 11 comments

The portable pudding solution

The Black Friday sale you wish you could shop.
posted by Neely O'Hara at 7:35 PM PST - 38 comments

"That’s the cost of doing business in this league."

Playing in the Red: College athletic departments are taking in more money than ever – and spending it just as fast — a Washington Post report on how perennial NCAA powerhouses and aspiring contenders alike are using student fees to pay for exploding athletic department budgets. [more inside]
posted by tonycpsu at 7:30 PM PST - 42 comments

Felipe Smith

Felipe Smith is the creator of Peepo Choo (warning auto-loading video ad), but you might know him as the writer of the All New Ghost Rider. He also happens to be the only black writer working at either Marvel or DC Comics.
posted by ladyriffraff at 6:17 PM PST - 9 comments

Message in a Bottle Cap: The Art of Robson Cezar

"If you are a regular in the pubs around Spitalfields, you may have noticed a man come in to collect bottletops from behind the bar and then leave again with a broad smile, clutching a fat plastic bag of them with as much delight as if he were carrying off a fortune in gold coins. This enigmatic individual with the passion for hoarding bottletops is Brazilian artist and Spitalfields resident Robson Cezar, and he needs to collect thousands because he makes breathtakingly intricate pictures with them." His work reveals the beautiful possibilities of the bottle cap. [more inside]
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:11 PM PST - 6 comments

The “little white man deep inside of all of us”

I have built a working miniature replica of the patriarchy in my mind. I would like very much to bust it up or burn it down. But I am afraid I don’t know how. Though I do have some ideas.
Claire Vaye Watkins On Pandering. [cached version]
posted by palegirl at 3:35 PM PST - 147 comments

Adeles, meet your Adele.

As part of the one-hour special Adele at the BBC hosted by Graham Norton, the program featured an audition of Adele impersonators demonstrating their talents. Among the performers was a mild-mannered nanny calling herself Jenny. Actually, that's probably not the name they know her by.
posted by Errant at 2:31 PM PST - 51 comments

The Father And The Traitor

The Double Life of John le Carré James Parker reviews John le Carré: The Biography, by Adam Sisman: [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:39 PM PST - 24 comments

Choose the British Museum's new YouTube series

The British Museum is relaunching its YouTube channel. It's currently considering four themed series, and will pick the one - or ones - that get the most likes. The overview video sets the stage. Here are the four exemplars offered for your consideration: [more inside]
posted by Devonian at 1:26 PM PST - 12 comments

Steve Albini essay

Why I Haven't Had a Conventional Christmas in 20 Years
posted by josher71 at 12:54 PM PST - 30 comments

"Does Floyd always have to die?? You're heartless, Steve."

Steve Meretzky has released a treasure trove of (minimally redacted) Infocom working documents. Written from 1981 to 1987, these internal documents were instrumental to Jason Scott when producing his documentary GET LAMP and have now been released on the Internet Archive. They include business memos, playtester notes, design documents, mockups by their packaging designer, and a tantalizing look into the elements of games that got cut or never fully developed. Stanford University has the originals.
posted by jackbishop at 12:50 PM PST - 23 comments

The Perfect Republican Stump Speech (sl538)

We asked former Republican speechwriter [for Mark Sanford, an experience he describes in The Speechwriter] Barton Swaim to write a ​totally pandering stump speech for an imaginary GOP presidential candidate — one who ​espouses only positions that a majority of Republicans agree with. ​Here’s the speech he wrote, including notes to explain his phrasing, behind-the-scenes pro tips on appealing to Republican voters and the data he used to decide which positions to take.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:48 AM PST - 73 comments

“...[F]ull of conversations, ready to launch into the world.”

So Amazon opened a new bookstore, and Paul Constant covered it for the Seattle Review of Books and ended up writing an eloquent defense of independent bookstores. [more inside]
posted by touchstone033 at 10:47 AM PST - 38 comments

Slow Motion Fire Tornado

We've seen 'All-Natural' Fire Tornadoes and 'Home-Made' Fire Tornadoes, but The Slo-Mo Guys have finally brought us a Slow-Motion Fire Tornado.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 10:43 AM PST - 6 comments

Because, well, look at Jessica.

When You’re Just Drawn That Way: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Interestingly enough, the only two women to comment on/protest this objectification are the two women explicitly drawn to be objectified sex symbols: Betty Boop and Jessica Rabbit.
posted by Michele in California at 10:33 AM PST - 46 comments

Winning the residential race

When it comes to housing, Australia and Berlin are worlds apart. In Australia, as in much of the English-speaking world, housing is treated as primarily a vehicle for investment and wealth creation, a state of affairs which began with the privately-financed speculative building of colonial times, and is firmly entrenched in the culture; 70% of Australians own their own homes, and the “Australian Dream” is still widely held to be home ownership, though these days the home may well be a trendy inner-city apartment rather than the traditional bungalow on a quarter-acre block. In Berlin, however, the vast majority of residents are renters, and they have considerable political clout, as they have had for decades. [more inside]
posted by acb at 10:29 AM PST - 26 comments

The Hatemonger

Donald Trump isn't funny anymore. Currently leading the polls in part due to a reaction to the Paris attacks that saw him inciting hatred against Muslim Americans with defamatory lies, Trump has eased off calls for a database of Muslims in favor of a new target, Black Americans, retweeting fake crime statistics provided by neo-nazis and supporting the beating of black protestors at his rallies. Let’s be clear, millions of Americans love Trump and are perfectly fine with him advancing racist lies. writes activist Shaun King, It’s ugly, but this, ladies and gentlemen, is America. 2015.
posted by Artw at 9:54 AM PST - 814 comments

Come aboard. We're expecting... well, maybe not YOU.

In the ten years it ran on ABC, it seemed like everybody who was anybody had been a guest star on "The Love Boat". Well, not quite, and one weird Tumblr now exists to fix that... Love Boat Insanity inserts pictures of those who missed the Love Boat into the familiar logo - people who were doing other things, or the producers would not have approved of, as well as others who were too young at the time, or too old or too dead or just purely fictional. Over 850 guest stars so far...
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:31 AM PST - 29 comments

Naming at Princeton

What We Owe the Students at Princeton A Crooked Timber discussion of naming public architecture and engineering in the context of the recent Princeton controversy over Woodrow Wilson.
posted by kingless at 9:23 AM PST - 41 comments

(Sail Away)

"Enya emerges from the shadows wearing a full-length black taffeta dress and a velvet shrug. She’s 54, but she has the skin of someone much younger — or someone who spends most of her time in an Irish castle. She looks like a mix of Deanna Troi and my mom, which is to say, she is the most beautiful woman in the world. She appears, nods as the room applauds her, and disappears without a word. “Now, for a light mingle,” the exec announces." -- Anne Helen Petersen on Enya, her avoidance of celebrity, her history, her massively successful career, and her castles.
posted by The Whelk at 9:05 AM PST - 68 comments

“But above all, I am a man, a hopelessly inquisitive man just like you.”

Every Philip Seymour Hoffman Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best By Nathan Rabin [Vulture.com]
“...we figured this would be a good time to delve deep into Hoffman’s filmography to determine what art of Hoffman’s is objectively, definitively better than his other art. In making our selection, we considered both the quality of the film as well as Hoffman’s performance. Though we strived to be as complete as possible, we were not able to see Mockingjay Part 2 ahead of this article, nor were we able to track down two of his most obscure early films, Szuler and Joey Breaker, left behind in VHS format. We still, however, had an awful lot to sift through, much of it awfully good.”
posted by Fizz at 7:48 AM PST - 51 comments

The underlying message of the Neighborhood

"I can still hear him signing off his show similar to the way he concluded his letter to Amy Melder: “You’ve made this day a special day by just your being you. There is no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.” Some have suggested that this message sought to instill children with a sense of self-importance, but to believe that is to fundamentally misunderstand Fred Rogers. At the core of Rogers’ mission was the paradoxical Christian belief that the way to gain one’s life is to give it away." (SL Atlantic)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:09 AM PST - 36 comments

'Last year I made a plan to record a bunch of dank new tunes...'

Electronic composer Dan Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, has just released his long-awaited new album, Garden of Delete. But he hasn't just released an album - he's created an entire, detailed, sorta disgusting lore. [more inside]
posted by nerdfish at 6:03 AM PST - 6 comments

Eleanor Saitta calls for secure decentralized collaboration tools

"Given that we still have so far to go, why am I telling people they should stop writing secure messaging tools? Because we have too many other tools we also need." Decentralized collaboration is how programmers work on software projects; it's also a good model for nonprofits, NGOs, and distributed teams of all kinds, especially ones which operate in risky environments or have powerful adversaries, according to this essay by Eleanor Saitta, a security consultant, systems thinker, and activist. She lists a number of system properties such teams need (decentralization, offline-friendliness, end-to-end encryption, etc) and two dozen ideas for needed tools: mind mapping, wiki, map-based storytelling, work assignment and tracking, reference management, and so on. [more inside]
posted by mbrock at 3:07 AM PST - 21 comments

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