MetaFilter posts tagged with maine

Photo Real

dersins — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:16:54 -0800

The American Image: The Photographs of John Collier Jr. at the University of New Mexico. "In 1941 to 1943, Collier worked as a photographer with the Farm Securities Administration and the Office of War Information under Roy Stryker and documented many areas around the eastern U.S and northern New Mexico." The full photoset is at flickr here.

Civil Rights defeat in Maine

VikingSword — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:11:14 -0800

Maine became the 31st state to block same-sex marriage through a public referendum Some said the loss was a sign that the state-by-state approach favored by the largest gay-rights groups had failed and that the focus should move to repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriage, and which Congress can overturn without voter approval. Others argued that the defeat only reinforced the need to keep winning grassroots support. Question 1 was approved as of November 4, 2009 at 2:05 a.m. EST. The fight goes on in the rest of the country, but for now, the focus is on legal measures.

WWII Veteran Speaks on Equality

pashdown — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:31:00 -0800

The woman at my polling place asked me, do I believe in equality for gay and lesbian people? I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her, "What do you think I fought for on Omaha Beach?"

maine ways

lalex — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:20:24 -0800

Maine Ways (SLYT)

Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom of Night--But Maybe Gmail

saulgoodman — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:57:51 -0800

You'll have to pry this mailbox from our cold, dead hands. At a time when a disgruntled few are turning up at town hall meetings around the country with assault rifles to defend America from the potential threat of health care reform bringing "socialism" to our doorstep, at least one small town in Maine seems to be saying, "Free markets be damned! We want access to our favorite government service whether it makes economic sense or not."

Everything's Better With Butter

ericb — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:43:39 -0800

'Artisanal butters' are favored and appreciated by cooks and gourmands -- especially those crafted by "garage entrepreneurs" from Maine [video]* and Vermont (churned by Diane St. Clair and favored by Thomas Keller at his noted restaurants, The French Laundry and Per Se). Butters from Canada, France, Ireland and elsewhere are also cherished. In related news:

"With enough butter, anything is good." Nora Ephron Talks About The Joy of Butter. No Michael Jackson Sculpture in Butter at the Iowa Fair.

I have no choice. I have to hit that button.

hermitosis — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:56:39 -0800

Maine House votes in favor of marriage equality, 89-57. In the process, Rep. Sheryl Briggs reveals that she cannot vote for the bill, despite the fact that her daughter is a lesbian. No word yet as to whether Governor John Baldacci will sign the legislation, but a campaign for a People's Veto is already underway.

Artifacts From A Previously Undiscovered Space Program

mikepop — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:40:29 -0800

So you go to be spaceman. If the space race had taken a few different turns, we might have ended up with a historical exhibit that looked like the one cooked up by the American Dream Technical Institute. Currently on display in Portland, Maine. Stroll on by for a look at the full-size spaceship, advertisements and other ephemera of the non-existent do-it-yourself space movement of the 1950s. All artifacts are helpfully explained by text panels, which (somewhat less helpfully) were taken from a 1959 book on space, translated into Russian with Systran, then pushed back through Systran into English. via SPACE Gallery.

Stop Laughing... It's NOT a COMEDY

geos — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:48:40 -0800

For your listening pleasure... the soothing sounds of Crank Sturgeon. Also, he makes contact mics.

Zeroing out the long term economic stimulus

jeffburdges — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:42:08 -0800

Science & technology funding has an enormous long term impact on the economy, a fact that has not escaped China. Yet, Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have proposed cutting all National Science Foundation and Department of Energy Office of Science funding from the Senate American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, along with almost all other proposed funding of the sciences and technological development, as a part of a $77.9B reduction effort. Why? Well, you'll notice that Nebraska & Maine don't contribute much to science & technology in the United States, nor win many grants, and hence no bacon for Nelson and Collins. The proposed cuts include : 50% of NASA exploration for $750M 100% of NSF for $1,402M 35% of NOAA for $427M 38% of NIST for $218M 38% of DOE energy efficiency & renewable energy for $1,000M 100% of DOE office of science for $100M

Benjamin Darling and the Maroon Society of Malaga Island

Foam Pants — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:07:47 -0800

The story of Benjamin Darling and his descendants begins with a dramatic shipwreck and ends, generations later, in a dark moment of human injustice Benjamin Darling was the slave, and possibly the son, of a sea captain in the late 1700's. In a dramatic moment of heroism, he saved his master when their ship broke up in a storm. As reward, Darling was freed and given land on Horse Island at the mouth of the New Meadows River in Maine. Darling's tale is told by State Radio in The Story of Benjamin Darling Part 1. He married and soon, after resettling to nearby Malaga Island around 1794, his family (see also) became the cornerstone of a small, mixed-race community trying to scratch out a meager existence on the hard-bitten island. Isolated by poverty and the harsh sea, the maroon society of Malaga Island contrasted sharply with the increasing wealth of the town of Phippsburg, fast becoming a summer destination for rich tourists. When the Malagaites reached out to Phippsburg for help in 1912, the town decided to cleanse the island of its inhabitants by force.

A Forest of Guitars

boost ventilator — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:24:50 -0800

Dick Stacey's Country Jamboree is now available on DVD/CD after years of slowly fading into obscurity. "I was wrong in thinking the Jamboree was a thing of the past," said Dick Stacey, a man whose three gas stations and motel took over sponsoring this uniquely Maine talent showcase on a whim in 1973—and ended up lasting just over a decade. The original show (Frankenstein's Country Jamboree) was started by Bob Whitten in Milbridge, Maine during the late 1950s. "There were no rehearsals, and auditions were unheard of. The only thing you had to be to be on Stacey’s Country Jamboree was to be sincere and sober," said 30-year-host Charlie Tenan. "Saturday Night Live was trying to invent characters like this...these were real people, but they were characters who couldn't be manufactured," said Nova Scotia resident and fan Brian White to The Halifax Daily News in 2001. For a sample, check out Bucksport's own Jennie Shontell sing "Wings of a Dove." The longevity and regional success of this program (yet current lack of YouTube presence) was partly due to the bizarre "Bangor/Atlantic Canada cable connection," which also bolstered the career of the late Great Money Movie host Eddie "We'll put 'em on for ya" Driscoll, until being destroyed by a decision by Atlantic Canadian cable providers to opt for Detroit feeds instead of ones from Bangor.

Ice Cream Man, On My [Friggin'] Street ...

Mayor Curley — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:28:32 -0800

"Are ice cream trucks sacred like fresh apple pie and high school football or are they unwelcome nuisances we tolerate?" You can weigh in here.

Bald Eagle Cam

VicNebulous — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:11:34 -0800

Mounted 70 feet up in a white pine tree on the coast of Maine, the BioDiversity Research Institute's live eagle webcam provides, "live video of a nesting pair of bald eagles, 24 hours a day. These eagles are the most successful pair in the state. They have nested at this site for 13 years, and raised 20 offspring." Warning: the live stream can be habit forming (especially when waiting for the eggs to hatch).

Billy the Kid

JPowers — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:30:44 -0800

Meet Billy the kid, an outsider growing up in small-town Maine.

Smile, Mahtha

Miko — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:24:50 -0800

Northeast Historic Film is the best of quirky Maine. They archive home movies, collect postcards of New England movie houses, and study depictions of New England in major films. Browsing the list of collections is tantalizing; if only some of these were available as clips or on YouTube. They're one of many archives preserving home movies. Also.

He's totally scalping the tickets.

staggernation — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:13:56 -0800

"...it looks like the dad's selling the tickets, the boy's complaining about something, and the mom and girl are extremely disinterested." If you liked Ted Bates, you'll love the Portland Sea Dogs. Quoth King Kaufman: "The hilarious part of the controversy is the statue itself, which is funnier than Spinal Tap's Stonehenge. It's that bad."

Most of my heroes don't appear on no food stamps

Mayor Curley — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 06:48:24 -0800

Fight the Powah! Small-town Maine teens set off bombs at their local Wal-Mart. Maybe they were hopped up on Skowhegan Martinis. Perhaps they wouldn't have been so angry if The Revolution had happened.

7 mph would be the equivalent of driving at the speed of light

jessamyn — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 07:23:22 -0800

At forty miles (64.4 km) from Pluto to Sun, the Maine Solar System Model is the largest complete three-dimensional scale model of the solar system in the world. What, you didn't know there was more than one? And yes, Pluto is staying put.

Yuh! The Friggin' Chupacabra

Mayor Curley — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 19:45:15 -0800

A coyote raised on Moxie and Allen's. Maine's chupacabra dead at 25. Finally done in by a bondo covered El Camino SS (poster speculation on car type and quality).

Friends & Foes of The International Northeast Economic Region

boost ventilator — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 14:26:17 -0800

Start or stop Atlantica. [via CBC]

So Dark the Port of Land

scblackman — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 11:28:20 -0800

Rough draft or a copy made by a Da Vinci acolyte? A painting entitled, "La Gioconda" which bears a striking resemblence to this one hangs in the distinctly non-Parisian Portland Museum of Art (Portland, Maine). Technical studies indicate that it was painted in 1510 (3-7 years after the orignal Mona Lisa). The Portland museum recently decided to re-display the painting [NB: link to public radio story] (having last hauled it out of the basement when the book came out).

Lobstermen preserve their bait in it, too.

Mayor Curley — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 09:54:43 -0800

Maine's favorite drink is Allen's Coffee Brandy and milk. No, really, it is Maine's favorite drink. Let's go get a sombrero, brother!

CATFIGHT! CATFIGHT!

Mayor Curley — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 10:13:12 -0800

Old lady versus bobcat. Old lady wins. Don't mess with Maine's rural elderly-- Mildred's a badass.

Wicked

Mayor Curley — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:33:37 -0800

Maine is an exciting place for children.