November 12, 2016

The Pulsating Spider

The mystery of the pulsating spider : "During my years in the field, I had recorded numerous instances of micro-movements in spider abdomens. While most are just really tiny unnoticeable movements on the spider's heart line, one particular spider stood out with swirling or pulsating movements in the abdomen and visible with the naked eye."
posted by dhruva at 10:17 PM PST - 19 comments

The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.

The band Francobollo released their song "Wonderful" with an animated video about a jealous ball of pubic hair. Yes, that's exactly what it's about. It's downright goofy, then turns a little scary, and barely on the edge of SFW. (Text and link courtesy of [Mefi's Own] Miss Cellania.)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:50 PM PST - 7 comments

Building "sandcastles" is a bit of a test...

Calvin Seibert builds modernist sand castles. "Nature will always be against you and time is always running out. Having to think fast and to bring it all together in the end is what I like about it. I rarely start with a plan, just a vague notion of trying to do something different each time. Once I begin building and forms take shape I can start to see where things are going and either follow that road or attempt to contradict it with something unexpected."
posted by mikesch at 9:01 PM PST - 12 comments

Folk Music In America, compiled by Dick Spotswood

“Folk Music in America” is a series of 15 LP records published by the Library of Congress between 1976 and 1978 to celebrate the bicentennial of the American Revolution. It was curated by librarian/collector-cum-discographer Richard K. Spottswood, and funded by a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts. The music, pulled primarily from the Library of Congress Archive of Folk Song (now Archive of Folk Culture), spans nearly a century (1890-1976) and virtually every form that can be considered American music. This includes native American songs and instrumental music, music of immigrant cultures from all over the world, and uniquely American forms like blues, jazz and country.
Folk Music in America [more inside]
posted by y2karl at 2:28 PM PST - 10 comments

Why Should Virginia Bear It?

No amount of casting people of color disguises the fact that they’re erasing people of color from the actual narrative.
Hamilton: not as revolutionary as it seems [more inside]
posted by wonton endangerment at 12:42 PM PST - 71 comments

Knit love in the dark

Anna Hrachovec shows us a tiny knitted gnome's response to this past week.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:42 PM PST - 8 comments

Electronic Self-Protection

How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour "In this article, I will show you how you can protect yourself by leveraging state-of-the-art encryption. In a single sitting, you can make great strides toward securing your privacy." [more inside]
posted by XtinaS at 12:17 PM PST - 48 comments

Meanwhile in the U.K...

The last walkie for Walnut the Whippet. Hundreds of people joined a dog owner when he took his beloved but poorly whippet Walnut on a final walk.
posted by blue_beetle at 12:12 PM PST - 15 comments

Strategy for calling your representatives

Emily Ellsworth once spent six years working as a staffer for Congress, and she tweeted about the ways to contact them that she observed were most effective for making a difference. She collected her tweets on Storify, here. [more inside]
posted by JHarris at 12:41 AM PST - 49 comments

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