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I'm Marie Fucking Kondo and You Can Keep All Your Fucking Books, You Ingrates
posted by Artw at 11:22 PM PST - 322 comments

Office Space - the oral history.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:17 PM PST - 76 comments

In 1933, Florence Price became the first African-American woman to have her music performed by a major orchestra. Price died in 1953, and while much of her work was lost over the years, her legacy was not forgotten. Good fortune struck in 2009, when nearly 30 boxes of her manuscripts and papers--including dozens of scores thought to be long gone--were found, as The New Yorker reports. NPR's All Things Considered explores Price's music, which is described as a blend of African-American and European styles, including musical allusions to Dvořák, African folk traditions, and spirituals. Composer Jordan Randall Smith offers an excellent roundup, and cautions against the use of the term "rediscovered." (Previously on Metafilter: Violin videos: Women playing music written by women)
posted by duffell at 7:44 PM PST - 5 comments

Historian Kevin M. Kruse recommends: If you’re looking for something to watch on MLK today, check out the fantastic “King in the Wilderness” documentary. Amazing footage, much of it not seen before, about the last, often overlooked chapters of King’s story.

KITW is a 2018 HBO documentary directed by Peter Kunhardt covering the last 18 months of Dr. King’s life. (Some reviews from the LA Times, THR, RogerEbert.com.) It has been uploading to YouTube by the Kunhardt Film Foundation, along with the clips and full interviews edited into the film.
posted by Going To Maine at 4:33 PM PST - 5 comments

I Needed A Hysterectomy At Age 31. Doctors Fought Me Every Step Of The Way. Ace Ratcliff describes six years of unnecessary pain, suffering and medical bills in pursuit of a hysterectomy. "I ran into roadblocks from the start. Doctors refused to take me seriously when I requested a surgical hysterectomy... And nothing I said could change my doctors’ minds, not the stories about my frequently dislocating hips, my mom’s complicated pregnancies or the increased rate of miscarriage and preterm labor for EDS patients." [more inside]
posted by homunculus at 4:01 PM PST - 39 comments

A Student Ate 5 Day Old Pasta For Lunch. This Is How His Liver Shut Down.
posted by srboisvert at 2:43 PM PST - 128 comments

"I was having a hard time not staring at the tube of flesh wrapped so tightly and held so firmly against his left thigh, as it lay against his firm hairy pelvis and angled up and to the left." [more inside]
posted by jojo and the benjamins at 1:50 PM PST - 54 comments

Robert Caro on doing history. Archives, friends, patience, moving house, family, not embarrassing Lady Bird Johnson, the joy of documents, and the power of SU. (SLNewYorker) (Previously on MetaFilter)
posted by doctornemo at 12:38 PM PST - 8 comments

38-year-old comedian, podcaster, and erstwhile variety show host Chris Gethard on why he competes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 12:29 PM PST - 9 comments

Two Hamsters Run a Very Clever Maze Created by Their Human With Five Different Levels To Conquer Five different stackable mazes for hamsters to go through. Adorable edible trophies at the end. [more inside]
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:08 PM PST - 10 comments

‘Heroin for middle-class nerds’: how Warhammer conquered gaming How has Games Workshop, a fantasy war games company founded in a London shop 40 years ago, become worth more than £1bn? By ruthlessly recruiting followers, and creating vast, fascinating worlds that diehard players never want to leave
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:41 AM PST - 54 comments

The federal goverment shutdown continues. The Trump Shutdown Is an Environmental Crisis, overflowing trash cans are the least of the problems. (New Republic) ’Barely above water': US shutdown hits black federal workers hardest (Guardian) “MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle reported a story Thursday of a pawned wedding ring as part of the #GoodNewsRUHLES segment she ends the show with: “Yesterday, my friend and colleague Hans Nichols, he brought us this story of one furloughed worker who was so in need of cash she pawned her wedding ring. But we have an amazing update to share: When that woman’s family learned that she sold her ring, on their own they contacted the pawn shop owner, Angela Huffman, and they bought the ring back for her. That is who we are as a nation.” There are no “feel-good” government shutdown stories (Vox) Shutdown Stories: How The Government’s Fight Affects Americans (Huff Post) “The following is an open letter from two employees of the federal government. Due to a fear of losing their jobs, they have chosen to remain anonymous.” We Work For The Federal Goverment And It’s Time To Strike (Splinter)
posted by The Whelk at 9:24 AM PST - 235 comments

After taking the reins at Michigan State University in the wake of the decades-long Nassar sexual abuse scandal, former Governor of Michigan and MSU alumnus John Engler said, "We have an extreme organizational challenge that must be addressed," and praised the courage of the survivors. Less than a year later, as the climate at MSU didn't seem to be getting any better, Engler told a newspaper editorial board that some of the survivors were "enjoying the spotlight". The Board of Trustees had scheduled a meeting to discuss the matter (and likely terminate Engler's interim presidency) when Engler pulled the classic You can't fire me, I quit! maneuver. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan at 8:37 AM PST - 17 comments

Norway town ready to battle Canadian city for world's tallest moose statue [more inside]
posted by poffin boffin at 7:19 AM PST - 39 comments

In a few hours, Theresa May is due to give a statement to Parliament about her Brexit Plan B, after a week of even more floundering about than we've come to expect. Gina Miller writes about the need for MPs to use the parliamentary sovereignty that she fought for. David Lammy MP argues that even a Norway outcome would be lose-lose. A backbench effort to rule out a no-deal Brexit is supposedly supported in private by much of the government, who don't want to do it themselves for fear of splitting their party. But might explicitly ruling out No Deal mean that May's deal ends up getting through? [more inside]
posted by rory at 4:03 AM PST - 605 comments

The Largest Vocabulary In Hip Hop (Updated): Some of the newer artists wield a smaller vocabulary comparatively, but this is not because hip hop has “dumbed down.” The genre has evolved; it has moved away from complex lyricism toward elements traditionally associated with pop music: repetitive song structure and singing. [Previously]
posted by chavenet at 3:57 AM PST - 38 comments

People who eat higher levels of dietary fibre and whole grains have lower rates of non-communicable diseases compared with people who eat lesser amounts, while links for low glycaemic load and low glycaemic index diets are less clear. Observational studies and clinical trials conducted over nearly 40 years reveal the health benefits of eating at least 25g to 29g or more of dietary fibre a day, according to a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in The Lancet. [more inside]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:41 AM PST - 38 comments

"Aren't you worried that you're gonna miss out on certain important life experiences from being homeschooled?" "Umm, that did cross my mind, but you know, VR is a way to escape, you know? Like, like, like I can be a frog... You know, I can make friends in VR, and they might treat me a bit differently based on my voice, but they won't treat me differently based on my height, or based on the way I look. It's really, I'd say, I think it's the closest form of anonymity that isn't anonymous you could get." Dawabvle talks to Syrmor in VRchat about living with ADHD, bullying in school, and Kermit the Frog. [more inside]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 12:57 AM PST - 4 comments

David Dorr, who in 1853 became the first African American to visit the Holy Land, couldn’t pass up the trip – he was a slave, forced to travel with his owner Cornelius Fellowes. Dorr later wrote about his three-year journey through Europe and the Middle East in a unique travel book, A Colored Man Round the World, which provided white readers with a rare look, before the Civil War, at an educated Black perspective. Slaves back then were erased from history, but Dorr, turning the tables, wrote as if he was traveling alone, and barely mentioned Fellowes except to mock him as clumsy or awkward. [more inside]
posted by LeLiLo at 12:45 AM PST - 6 comments