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During the early years of the nineteenth century, as nations in the Americas gained and asserted their independence, pictorial representations of the landscape forged visions of the whole hemisphere. Landscape imagery of the period shows how we are connected by a shared pan-American history, but also underscores the differences between our respective national identities based on our relationships to the land.

Picturing the Americas features over 100 landscape paintings from Tierra del Fuego to the High Arctic. You can explore the site by theme, by timeline, by artist, and by map.
posted by Rumple at 11:36 PM PST - 6 comments

I’ve studied all the body’s fluids and used each in diagnosing disease, and urine stands out in the wealth of information it grants about a patient’s condition. (WaPo) Conceived in the kidneys — a pair of bean-shaped organs tucked away in the abdomen’s rear — urine runs down the ureters and is conveniently stored in the bladder, from which it is gathered in plastic cups for testing. Urine analysis is performed frequently enough by physicians to have earned the shorthand “urinalysis” — no other bodily fluid can claim to be on a nickname-basis with the medical profession. (alternate link for non-subscribers, but no stock photo of a pee cup) [more inside]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:10 PM PST - 33 comments

How a workshop uses digital technology to craft perfect copies of imperilled art: The Factory of Fakes [more inside]
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:45 PM PST - 3 comments

Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? is an 8-part podcast series from the CBC investigating the murder of Alberta Williams. [more inside]
posted by carolr at 2:28 PM PST - 4 comments

Cards Against Humanity, the company that brought you a party game for horrible people and billboards mocking Donald Trump, have another holiday project for 2016. The holidays are here, and everything in America is going really well. To celebrate Black Friday, Cards Against Humanity is digging a tremendous hole in the earth. Behold: The Holiday Hole. [more inside]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:24 PM PST - 133 comments

Word Up! by Cameo was a hit single in 12 countries in 1986-87. The funk and R&B song, which sampled the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, was written by band members Larry Blackmon and Tomi Jenkins. The video featured LeVar Burton from Roots and ST:TNG, and a codpiece designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier. Also available as GIFs. Word Up! has been covered across a range of genre by artists including Gun, Mel B, Korn, Little Mix and Willis. Lyrics below the fold... [more inside]
posted by Wordshore at 1:55 PM PST - 62 comments

Dominos is training reindeers in Japan to deliver pizza over the holidays by pulling sleds full of pizza across snowy roadways too treacherous for delivery bikes. The company says they’re learning their new jobs on the grounds of a driving school and will be ready to start work in December. This idea is way cooler than that time Dominos tried delivering pizza by drone.
posted by _Mona_ at 11:17 AM PST - 15 comments

One day I will make a semi-megapost on hip-hop supergroup, Haiku D'Etat, The Freestyle Fellowship, and their associated acts. On this Sunday morning, however, I've just compiled a short playlist of groovy songs to help ease you into a relaxed, wake-and-bake state of mind: (Previously):

AyeM Ray-DIO - Sunshyne ~ Abstract Rude - The Solution feat. Slug & Brother Ali ~ Haiku D'Etat - Poetry Takeover ~ Abstract Rude - Yep ~ Haiku D'Etat - Los Dangerous ~ Haiku D'Etat - Wants vs. NEEDS ~ Abstract Rude & Tribe Unique - Coolin
posted by Room 641-A at 9:18 AM PST - 11 comments

Ron Glass, who played Ron Harris on "Barney Miller" and Shepherd Book on "Firefly," has died at 71. [more inside]
posted by lharmon at 8:42 AM PST - 115 comments

“If there’s a bathroom, there should be a toilet. And if there’s a toilet, it should flush. It’s these little pieces of seemingly pointless interactivity that maintain the illusion of being inside a functional other place, not just a place-shaped box.” - What virtual toilets can teach us about the art of game design
posted by Artw at 6:25 AM PST - 54 comments

"Saturn's largest moon might be the only place beyond Earth where humans could live" Charles Wohlforth and Amanda R. Hendrix urge some of us to consider becoming Titanians. (via) [more inside]
posted by doctornemo at 5:55 AM PST - 47 comments

people have asked me many times if I thought about my characters, and if so, what they were up to. And I would have to be honest. No, I didn’t think about them, and I had no idea what they were doing.

But last week they all started flooding back.
posted by MartinWisse at 4:22 AM PST - 24 comments