December 7, 2017

it's anti-fascist, not anti-fashion

The New York Times Style section has latched onto the most recent of trendiest trends, and present a guide to anarchist fashion: What To Wear To Smash The State, Rick Paulas [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:48 PM PST - 37 comments

Noshing in Asia

Take your husband and child across China and Mongolia in a small RV (one of six available to rent). Really fun article on what it's like to encounter Mongolians when traveling in your RV. They're friendly people and invite the travelers into their yurts to sample their traditional foods. Next is an introduction to the foods of Georgia 10 Georgian Dishes And now I'm hungry.
posted by MovableBookLady at 7:37 PM PST - 8 comments

Black Mothers Keep Dying After Giving Birth

Shalon Irving's story shows how it happens: The researcher working to eradicate disparities in health access and outcomes had become a symbol of one of the most troublesome health disparities facing black women in the U.S. today: disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality. The main federal agency seeking to understand why so many American women — especially black women — die, or nearly die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth had lost one of its own. From Nina Martin, NPR
posted by Dashy at 6:06 PM PST - 39 comments

You know what they put on French fries on Vulcan instead of ketchup?

Following the news that Quentin Tarantino is developing a new Star Trek movie for J.J. Abrams, it is being reported that both Abrams and Paramount have agreed to Tarantino's condition that the movie be rated R. [more inside]
posted by entropicamericana at 2:38 PM PST - 151 comments

Anyone who was watching that night was shrieking, I promise.

I Think About This a Lot: When Kimberly Shaw Ripped Off Her Wig on Melrose Place. It would not occur to me until years later that Kimberly’s revenge plot was a more sane reaction to her circumstances than I’d given her credit for. Watching today, Kimberly’s anger feels righteous and well earned.
posted by roger ackroyd at 2:21 PM PST - 14 comments

It's an Ultraviolet Kind of Day

Pantone has named its color for 2018: Ultraviolet. [more inside]
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:08 PM PST - 39 comments

“You don’t take a photograph. You ask quietly to borrow it.”

Flickr's Top 25 Photos of 2017. [more inside]
posted by zarq at 1:54 PM PST - 30 comments

Nancy gets hit one time and the world shits. For me it was all the time.

The new movie I, Tonya offers the complete story of Tonya Harding, a woman who was "a punchline, her name alone providing a bitter shorthand for scandal." According to Vogue: "The result is a dark (more like pitch-black) comedy that makes you feel uneasy about laughing, a mockumentary that casts doubt on the mechanisms by which documentaries—or journalism more generally—purport to enshrine the truth, a demented, doomed love story that’s mostly about abuse." The Roger Ebert web site: 3-1/2 stars.
posted by Melismata at 1:39 PM PST - 66 comments

Patreon to shift payment processing fees from creators to patrons

Patreon has sent an email to patrons today stating that, "Starting December 18th, we will apply a new service fee of 2.9% + $0.35 that patrons will pay for each individual pledge. This service fee helps keep Patreon up and running." [FAQ] Vice: It will now cost patrons around $1.38 to give a creator $1 per month, instead of $1, which some creators believe could lead serial backers—those who support a lot of projects but at a very low monthly fee—to pull support. [more inside]
posted by Existential Dread at 1:37 PM PST - 131 comments

“Bleak But Gorgeous, Like Light Through Ice”

Prize-winning author-critic William Gass dead at 93 [AP] [more inside]
posted by chavenet at 12:21 PM PST - 15 comments

Solidarity Not Charity

What Is Mutual Aid and how does it differ from charity or Not-For-Profit? The Mutual Aid Toolbox.
posted by The Whelk at 11:48 AM PST - 23 comments

Letters From WWII found in a storage locker

Four siblings wrote hundreds of letters to each other during World War II. The story they tell of service, sacrifice and trauma was hidden away in an abandoned storage unit — until now.
posted by COD at 8:40 AM PST - 6 comments

I, for one, etc., etc.

Given only the rules and four hours to practice, the algorithm AlphaZero (by Google and DeepMind) proceeded to defeat the reigning engines in chess, shogi, and Go. [more inside]
posted by starman at 7:06 AM PST - 95 comments

Cult 2.0 is upon us

Sedona, AZ has been infiltrated by a polyamorous tech bro cult leader with a massive following. His devotees are everywhere. They believe he can control the weather with his mind. He talks about aliens & government conspiracies, sleeps with and verbally abuses students and believes he is an awakened God not responsible for his actions. He loves expensive scotch and has a sweet spot for cigars, but not Cubans. I spent one month embedded in his group under the alias “Shakti Hunter.” This is my report.

Tech Bro Guru: Inside the Sedona Cult of Bentinho Massaro
posted by timshel at 5:59 AM PST - 148 comments

Something broke, is breaking still

The use of sexual frustration and weaponized misogyny in the radicalization of young men is consistent across ideologies, and the entitlement that underlies it is not exclusive to fascist movements. - The Consent of the (Un)governed, Laurie Penny on #metoo, neoliberalism, the alt-right and the breaking point the world finds itself at today.
posted by Artw at 5:35 AM PST - 161 comments

Marriage equality law passes Australia's parliament in landslide vote

Australia’s parliament has legislated for marriage equality, passing a bill almost unanimously to allow two people, regardless of sex, to marry. [more inside]
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:32 AM PST - 69 comments

Have you, in fact, got any cheese here at all?

In an extraordinary moment in a week full of them, it became clear yesterday that the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis has been bluffing on Brexit, and that the 58 (or 57, or 50-60) impact assessments he has alluded to for months, and which were requested by Parliament six weeks ago, do not, in fact, exist. [more inside]
posted by rory at 2:54 AM PST - 169 comments

If you go down in the woods today

Out Came the Girls - Adolescent Girlhood, the Occult, and the Slender Man Phenomenon (previous)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:22 AM PST - 24 comments

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