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"The Great Gatsby" has entered public domain as of 1/1/2021, and a Reddit post suggesting a Muppet Great Gatsby adaptation went viral. Now Redditor Ben Crew has written a 104-page Muppet Great Gatsby adaptation, complete with songs and a poster.
posted by skycrashesdown at 10:51 PM PST - 37 comments

New Zealand allegedly has no dangerous animals, birds or bugs. But it has one insect that left Cook's expedition with "ulcers like the small pox:" the sandfly. These blackflies, called namu in Māori, commit their dastardly deeds brazenly in the full light of day, using their serrated claws to saw through human flesh. Māori used crushed ngaio leaves to both repel them and soothe bites, while early settlers rubbed rancid bacon on their bodies to keep the critters away. Entomologists note that sandflies will leave humans alone if there is a delicious penguin nearby to feast on; however, the Department of Conservation frowns on the use of a personal penguin as pest deterrent. [more inside]
posted by rednikki at 8:14 PM PST - 43 comments

“Agriculture needs young people, needs motivation, and no one wants to go out to be confronted by a group of men holding guns,” says Umer Sami, an aspiring Pampore entrepreneur who wants to boost the presence of Kashmiri saffron in the online marketplace. “Young men have either begun to take up arms and stones against the struggle, or just stay home. Think about it — in your 20s, you live in one of the most violent places in the world. Would you do something that ties you to its land, or something that gets you out?” Sharanya Deepak writes for Eater about the intertwined fates of saffron and Kashmir.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:30 PM PST - 5 comments

The Microclimate Air is the pandemic accessory you do not need. Could be useful for astronaut cosplay though.
posted by COD at 3:59 PM PST - 53 comments

The National Rifle Association has filed for Chapter 11 in bankruptcy court. Beyond the financial woes the organization has faced due to corrupt dealings by NRA leadership, the move is also an attempt by the organization to escape the lawsuit in New York, as the organization is clearly stating their intention to restructure as a Texas nonprofit.
posted by NoxAeternum at 2:22 PM PST - 74 comments

Ann Wood's house of fabric ants who like midcentury furniture and modern art. And their Christmas preparations. More information about making the Beaumonts and their house. And some ideas for having ideas. And, via a comment from MeFite umwhat in Ask in 2015, Ann Wood's workspace.
posted by paduasoy at 2:14 PM PST - 14 comments

"Somewhere in This Brain": Memories of Segregation, Soul Music & Macbeth with Al Bell. While researching the cultural history of the high school literature canon, Andrew Newman came across a reference to Black students memorizing passages of Macbeth at their segregated Little Rock high school 1958. One of the named students was Alvertis Isbell, known today as Al Bell of Stax Records. Bell spoke to Newman about his high school education, his career as student council president and what it taught him about politics and music, and the connection he realized between Macbeth and "I'll Take You There."
posted by mixedmetaphors at 1:49 PM PST - 7 comments

BlockpartyApp has opened on producthunt.com Founded and launched by Tracy Chou after her bad experiences on Twitter. Every woman, PoC and queer person on Twitter needs this app.
You can ask a friend for an invite (requires an email address), or you can use this special invite for Product Hunt members for the next 24 hours. Whichever way you join, a phone no. is required for 2fa.
posted by Lanark at 1:41 PM PST - 12 comments

Jenny Nicholson takes a deep dive into the Vampire Diaries.
posted by Pendragon at 12:40 PM PST - 21 comments

Looking for a creative distraction? Want to study with comics luminaries like Mira Jacobs and Ben Passmore? You're in luck--since last April, the Believer Magazine has been hosting hour-long, interactive comics workshops through the Black Mountain Institute YouTube channel, all of which have been archived here. [more inside]
posted by carrienation at 11:39 AM PST - 3 comments

Its not too soon to start planning for next-years Christmas gifts! A little bulkier than your standard DSLR camera, the wine-barrel sized Canon CE-SAT-1 isn't equipped for your next safari or birding trip... instead its Canon's promise of "consumer electronics" satellite camera. Or perhaps you'd prefer to be peddled different wares? From lab-grown human milk, to a robot for every need, to a refrigerator that makes round ice cubes!, there's more tech -real and only imagined- at CES2021.
posted by rubatan at 11:27 AM PST - 17 comments

DeGoogle. No More Facebook.
posted by aniola at 11:12 AM PST - 33 comments

A pigeon that Australia declared a biosecurity risk has received a reprieve after a U.S. bird organization declared its identifying leg band was fake. The band suggested the bird found in a Melbourne backyard on Dec. 26 was a racing pigeon that had left the U.S. state of Oregon, 13,000 kilometers (8,000 miles) away, two months earlier. On that basis, Australian authorities on Thursday said they considered the bird a disease risk and planned to kill it. But Deone Roberts, sport development manager for the Oklahoma-based American Racing Pigeon Union, said on Friday the band was fake.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:08 AM PST - 12 comments

It’s been over a week since the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Republican domestic terrorists. The National Guard has bivouacked around the Capitol in order to maintain security. President Donald Trump has been impeached for a record second time. And there are reports that federal officials are investigating congressional collusion with the insurrectionists.
posted by valkane at 11:02 AM PST - 116 comments

"While Harvey’s Brewery, established here in Lewes in 1790, is not actually a house of worship, drinking a pint of its Best can be near to a religious experience. When served in peak condition, topped with a round of foam that imitates the gentle roll of the South Downs themselves, there are few other things that offer similar comfort." - Matthew Curtis in his ode to Harvey's Sussex Best in Pellicle [more inside]
posted by knapah at 10:26 AM PST - 15 comments

Following on from two weeks of violent sedition, and the historic second impeachment of the current resident, Joe Biden yesterday laid out his administration's $1.9tn American Rescue Plan in a televised address. Coverage links, and some others from prior megathread inside. [more inside]
posted by MattWPBS at 9:42 AM PST - 1065 comments

Homes that are portals to the past - talking to people who have the interior decor of their homes based on what was popular in the good old days.
posted by Stark at 9:24 AM PST - 39 comments

Hot Pepper History was a YouTube series from the Indiana Historical Society. The concept is simple: a staff member prepares a (short) history lesson and then eats a hot pepper and... tries to deliver it. Explaining that they didn't feel right about doing a Drunk History project, the IHS settled on this method instead. You can learn about the squirrel migration of 1911, the 1909 National Balloon Chapionship, or where the term hoosier comes from (there's even a bloopers reel or two)
posted by jessamyn at 9:20 AM PST - 13 comments

Filmmaker Andrea Dorfman and Poet Tanya Davis bring us How To Be At Home, an animated poem about coping in the time of COVID. The short is part of a series by NFB Canada called The Curve that explores the physical and emotional aspects of pandemic isolation. [more inside]
posted by forbiddencabinet at 9:15 AM PST - 8 comments

Every Single Scandinavian Crime Drama [SLYT, humor]
posted by schmod at 8:57 AM PST - 9 comments

"I am very persistent about my small, stupid story, about the idea that I’m the main character here, on the couch, looking at my phone, doing nothing at all. All the people I once loved and don’t speak to anymore all crowd in real against the convenient backdrop of these big and horrible days. "
posted by Miko at 7:47 AM PST - 5 comments

because normies are getting creative during the pandemic! (sl twitter) [more inside]
posted by miles per flower at 7:14 AM PST - 23 comments

Changes are afoot at Disney's theme parks. Disneyland Resort Annual Passes are being discontinued, Disneyworld Magical Express airport transfer buses are ending in 2022, and veteran Imagineers Joe Rohde and Kevin Rafferty are retiring.
posted by adrianhon at 2:34 AM PST - 47 comments