December 12, 2015
That's Life
From 1983, and in honor of the centennial of the birth of America's greatest interpreter of popular song, here is Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite, as performed at the Kennedy Center, starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Elaine Kudo. [more inside]
translated from the Italian
Little slice of U.S. history: 19th century divorce
Before "no-fault" divorce laws were enacted in the U.S., married persons seeking divorce had to prove grounds for divorce under extremely narrow circumstances. In the late 19th century, divorce laws were more permissive in some parts of the country than others, leading to a form of "divorce tourism". [more inside]
Yes, Vogue, Coloring Books Are a Thing. A Zen Thing
I’ve never once felt moved to pick up a coloring book and go to town. Nor did I imagine that people in my social sphere were doing so. Were those Instagram-famous coloring parties a total anomaly? Or were my other friends also secretly brandishing markers in their spare time? Vogue writer Julia Felsenthal wonders if coloring books are actually a thing after reading Julie Beck's piece in The Atlantic. [more inside]
“What kind of police do you call on the police?”
An all-white jury convicted Daniel Holtzclaw of rape. It's almost enough. [The Guardian]
It took 45 hours over the course of four days for an all-white jury in Oklahoma City to decide whether or not they should convict former police officer Daniel Holtzclaw of sexual assault on the word of 13 black women. On Thursday night, the jury opted to believe (most of) them. There is perhaps no bigger test of how blind justice could possibly be than asking any American jury – especially one that is all white and includes eight men – to believe 13 black women over a former police officer and supposed hero football player. It’s easy enough to point to cases where the police were acquitted. And yet, against all expectations this time, justice was blind.[more inside]
It's a toilet.
At an alarming, unprecedented 100% success rate, literally every participant in my focus group correctly identified the abstract, gender-neutral concept I came up with to identify a restroom. Update: Printable Gender Neutral Bathroom Signs Project. Double Update: this is now a thing.
Cosplay Rescue Woman is the hero we need *and* deserve
Feeling down about the world? Well, there are people who go to conventions for the express purpose of helping cosplaying strangers repair their awesome costumes, and these angels often dress in their own awesome costumes to boot. So things must not be that bad. (via io9)
1.5C
By comparison to what it could have been, it’s a miracle. By comparison to what it should have been, it’s a disaster. - A historic deal has been struck in Paris to reduce carbon emissions and reduce global warming, with a ceiling of 2 degrees centigrade and a goal of 1.5C. 2015 has been the hottest year on record.
Baby steps in Saudi women's rights and democracy
Today (Dec. 12, 2015) marks a few significant milestones for Saudi Arabia: the third time municipal elections have been held in recent times, and even bigger, the first time women could vote, and stand as candidates, though female candidates had to deal with a number of restrictions and rules not placed on male candidates. Despite these limitations and the low turn-out by women, Hatoon al-Fassi, a Saudi professor and leading women's rights activist, embraces these "baby steps" towards more equal rights and greater democracy. At the same time, the younger generation of Saudi women find more freedom and progress in a new gaming convention for women only.
Iron Age poetry in motion
Animation of the warrior plate of the Gundestrup Cauldron, the largest surviving example of European Iron Age silver work.
Except this
Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam (NSFW language)
The Real Reason You're Circumcised
The Bizarre Truth About Purebred Dogs (and Why Mutts Are Better)
Why Tipping Should Be Banned
[more inside]
The Real Reason You're Circumcised
The Bizarre Truth About Purebred Dogs (and Why Mutts Are Better)
Why Tipping Should Be Banned
[more inside]
The Wild Reeds
Funnybones
Comics and the Anthropological Imagination, from the Centre for Imaginative Ethnography. Solidarity: a graphic ethnography. At the food bank: a graphic commentary. Sketching the Melee. Trachyte - Mumbai. Drawing in Time. Tale of the Sarnia Nose .
8,000 watts of Holiday Cheer
The wild, over the over top, totally insane holiday lights of Dyker Heights! Bonus A Local's Guide To The Christmas Lights
MOVIE SIGN!
Mystery Science Theater 3000 lives! Joel Hodgson has successfully raised close to $6 million on Kickstarter to reboot MST3K. Hodgson projects that the money raised will fund 12 episodes of
the series' new incarnation. The reboot will star Jonah Ray as its new host/experimental subject; Hampton Yount and Baron Vaughn as the new voices of Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo; Felicia Day as Kinga Forrester; and Patton Oswalt as TV's Son of TV's Frank. Many more guest stars have signed on for cameo appearances, and guest writers will include Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland, and Avenue Q's Robert Lopez. [more inside]
Next stop, Arkham.
John Ott is a model railroad enthusiast and an H.P. Lovecraft fan. Perhaps inevitably, he has produced part of Arkham, Mass. in HO scale. [more inside]
how to look at the art of the British empire
There can be few more contentious subjects than the empire, and few artistic legacies more explosive. Now, Tate Britain is to hold the first major British exhibition of masterworks from the colonial period – and the results are revealing - William Dalrymple writes
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