MetaFilter posts tagged with North

The North Korea of the Privileged

dawson — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:36:01 -0800

North Korea: A rare photographic insight into a very foreign country

Will Rigby recounts meeting some pre-indie rock heroes.

celerystick — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:31:52 -0800

A founding father of DIY indie rock, Will Rigby recounts the pilgrimages to locate underground rock legends Alex Chilton, (during his wry Americana deconstructo anarchy phase), and the 'McCartney' to Chilton's Big Star 'Lennon', the Brydsian Chris Bell. Blogs on bands may not seem to rate but cats with these sensibilities, unlike today, seemed incredibly uncommon then . Also mentioned, the Dbs, Little Diesel, and Mitch Easter. Free Mp3s of the rare 45s included.

Avoiding death by plastic

TheyCallItPeace — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:15:13 -0800

Talk about plastic accumulating in the North Pacific gyre has popped up on and off for quite a while now. Vice is running a series on the state of the gyre, as part of their "Toxic Series". Given the fact that most plastics are not biodegradable, we need to start looking more carefully at how much damage we are doing to ourselves through our use of plastic, and what we can do about it. Not surprisingly, some plastics may also pose more direct health risks to us. Just a few months ago, Mountain Equipment Co-op, a popular retailer of outdoor gear in Canada, pulled polycarbonate Nalgene bottles from its shelves. Now the Canadian government has banned baby bottles made from this clear plastic because there are indication that Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in its production and which leaches out of the plastic, may be potentially quite harmful. It seems unavoidable that we need to find viable replacements for plastics. San Francisco has banned plastic shopping bags, and even China, a country with pretty spotty environmental record, will ban plastic shopping bags nationwide starting in June. Given the current prevalence of plastics today, we also need to consider how we can recycle or reuse the vast mountains of plastic waste we have already produced. One of the links above mentioned Plastic Lumber, which apparently does not require plastic to be sorted before recycling. As today is Earth Day, I though this would be a good topic for people to think about.

Denny's Saved by Googie

lightweight — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:18:58 -0800

A recent decision by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board has saved an abandoned Denny's restaurant from the wrecking ball. On closer inspection the restaurant represents Googie-style architecture which was considered futuristic in the 60's. Granted it's not on par with the future of today. But there are some appealing offshoots in North West modernist designs. (Googie previously here).

Great, plain, empty.

dersins — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:21:35 -0800

"The Emptied Prairie," a National Geographic article on North Dakota's ghost towns and the decline of the Great Plains. Typically amazing National Geographic photos here. Reminds me of a similar series that ran in the New York Times several years ago, which included this fascinating article by Timothy Egan.

Funny Money

specialk420 — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:51:32 -0800

Super funny money turning up on the world stage
Along with pranks going on in the gulf this week, some funny stuff going on with US Currency as well - Perhaps part of the explanation of the seemingly endless run on gold?

Dakota, the Last Dinosaur

Uther Bentrazor — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:54:26 -0800

Scientists find a 'mummified' Hadrosaur in North Dakota "He looks like a blow-up dinosaur in some parts," said Phillip Manning, a paleontologist at the University of Manchester in England who is leading the inquiry. "When you actually look at the detail of the skin, the scales themselves are three dimensional. . . . The arm is breathtaking. It's a three-dimensional arm, you can shake the dinosaur by the hand. It just defies logic that such a remarkable specimen could preserve." WaPo's Gallery link As reported in Wired, the scientists have discovered via CT scans that "the specimen's vertebrae, which museums commonly stack together, are actually spaced 10 millimeters apart. The result, Manning said, implies that scientists may have been underestimating the size of hadrosaurs and other dinosaurs."

A Picture Counts

zzazazz — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:23:32 -0800

On Sept. 4th, 1957, a 15-year-old girl named Dorothy Counts took a walk that changed Charlotte. The photograph was taken by Don Sturkey. He took a lot of great pictures of North Carolina history.

"The house wine of the South"

kirkaracha — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:03:46 -0800

Where the South Really Begins [Flash] Forget the Mason-Dixon Line. The South really starts at the Sweet Tea Line. [more inside]

Free Snow Balls For Life

Secret Life of Gravy — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 09:17:55 -0800

Alaska's calling Yoooooooooooou! Not interested in that Free Land in North Dakota or Kansas? Anderson, Alaska is giving away 26 lots on a first come, first serve basis. No gas station, no grocery store, no traffic lights, but grizzley bears abound!