MetaFilter

Several years ago, MetaFilter had a famous thread where MeFites interacted with the creator of a unique operating system called LoseThos (previously). The creator, Terry Davis, now calls his work TempleOS, and released version 5.03 last year. [more inside]
posted by ambulocetus at 5:42 PM PST - 34 comments

By the 5th century, christianity's mystical aspects drew the young. As the religion grew, a series of spectacular churches and monasteries were built high atop mountains or excavated out of solid rock, many of which are still in use today. Over in West Africa, mosques were being built of mud. Because islam did not arrive in an invasive flood, the architectural style was mixed with local style to create a vernacular mosque style. West African Mosques
posted by MovableBookLady at 5:19 PM PST - 3 comments

We’ve Always Hated Girls Online: A Wayback Machine Investigation: A former fan searches for a teen girl who was once internet famous for her coding skills [more inside]
posted by not_the_water at 4:29 PM PST - 21 comments

"Waiting for the critic’s verdict used to be a moment of high anxiety, but there’s not so much to worry about anymore. The general tone and tenor of the contemporary book review is an advertisement-style frippery. And, if a rave isn’t in order, the reviewer will give a stylized summary of sorts, bookended with non-conclusions as to the book’s content. ... Only the longest-serving critics, if they are lucky enough to be ensconced in the handful of newspapers that still have them, paw at the possibility of a negative review."
posted by oprahgayle at 3:22 PM PST - 36 comments

If you've been to the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres at Chartres, Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery, the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, or many others, you may have noticed that the Madonna was black - either due to paint, natural materials, age, smoke, or perhaps .... mystical significance. Is Our Lady of the Underground a Goddess in Disguise? [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:14 PM PST - 10 comments

How one visionary Latino has influenced his community and one of the largest corporations in America. Flamin Hot Cheetos were created by son of migrant farmworkers, who grew up not speaking English, and dropped out of high school and became a janitor. He had the idea while watching a street vendor in his neighborhood make elote, or grilled Mexican street corn — corn on the cob covered in cheese, butter, lime and chili. “What if I took the same concept and applied it to a Cheeto?” he thought. [more inside]
posted by apricot at 2:26 PM PST - 22 comments

Björk's favourite Syrian wedding singer Omar Souleyman (previously) is now an EDM star, produced by the likes of Four Tet (previously) and Diplo, and his (longish) music videos are... something else: Warni Warni (2013) - Chobi (2017) [more inside]
posted by progosk at 2:23 PM PST - 7 comments

"Domestic conversion - the metamorphosis of a jetliner into a home" just one of the many sections of the FAQ of airplanehome.com the site Bruce Campbell created to explain how he converted a Boeing 727 and turned it into his home. Too many words? Just watch this short video tour. [via]
posted by jessamyn at 1:48 PM PST - 27 comments

A Practical Toolkit to Trigger and Support Social Innovation. You can also get the entire toolkit as a PDF.
posted by storybored at 1:14 PM PST - 4 comments

Stormzy delivers a blistering performance at the Brit Awards, calling out Theresa May's response to Grenfell and suggesting the Daily Mail suck his *bleep* (previously on Twitter). [more inside]
posted by threetwentytwo at 11:28 AM PST - 14 comments

In 2013, software developer Stardock announced they were making a new Star Control game, the first in nearly two decades, after they purchased the rights to the Star Control games from Atari (previously) Or so they thought. [more inside]
posted by thecjm at 11:12 AM PST - 31 comments

The landlord opens the door to a tiny room. It radiates the possibility that I have been wrong about everything. Every decision in my life has led me to this point, and I can't believe what it looks like: The space is 10 feet by 9 feet 3 inches. This living room/dining room/office/bedroom/closet is 175 square feet total, according to my calculations. ... I catch my own face in the mirror. I have a hard time looking at myself, here, in an apartment this teensy, at age 34. If I take this place, that mirror is going to have to come down. What It's Like to Live in a Space the Size of a Closet by Paulette Perhach. [more inside]
posted by Bella Donna at 10:55 AM PST - 103 comments

If you believe that kids these days are fragile “snowflakes,” that political correctness is running amok, and that LGBT people are now society’s true bullies, this new Heathers is the show for you. The premiere of the rebooted cult classic, now airing for free online, takes place in a universe—clearly a fictional one—where the football team is oppressed and yesteryear’s fat, queer, and black victims now rule the school with manicured fists.

The new Heathers opens with a slur against intersex people and goes downhill from there.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:55 AM PST - 74 comments

A cardinal with a rare genetic mutation has been spotted in Alabama. Normally cardinals turn yellow pigments into red with an enzyme, but this one is different. Here's video of it eating.
posted by larrybob at 10:31 AM PST - 23 comments

Increased screen-time for teens impacts psychological well-being , but so does too little screen time. Similarly, phubbing, or phone-snubbing, your partner impacts your relationship. Ditching devices can be particularly hard, as as apps and games are designed to be "addictive" (while Internet Gaming Disorder is a “Condition for Further Study” in the DSM-5, there's no formal designation for "tech addiction"). So what to do? There are lots of options and ideas, from setting new boundaries for yourself and your kids, including "Tech Shabbat" (which isn't a new idea). [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 9:14 AM PST - 53 comments

Birth Becomes Her - Winners of the 2018 photo contest on maternity. [NSFW - naked people, babies being born, breastfeeding] [more inside]
posted by chavenet at 8:41 AM PST - 26 comments

“Marie Miranda cooked potato salad, pastelillos and rice for a group of 30 socialists and Emerald Equity tenants gathered in Alex’s apartment for the DSA Housing Working Group meeting. The socialists came to hear the tenants’ experiences, and tenants came to give powerful testimony of landlord abuse. There was standing room only as people crowded into the living room and leaned in from the kitchen to hear the tenants speak.

One by one, in Spanish, the tenants gave harrowing accounts of abuses spanning decades, including the death of one tenant’s father due to management’s negligence...” Rats In The Hallway (Indypendant) how a group of working class women and the NYC DSA teamed up to fight hostile landlords pushing out rent stabilized tenants. (Article in Spanish, Ratas en el Pasillo)
posted by The Whelk at 8:36 AM PST - 4 comments

In which Abhishek Singh recreates a scene from The Ring using Augmented Reality, so the friendly character Sadako can follow you around your house. The scene in the US remake, and more in The Verge, Road to VR and Gizmodo. The character on Wikipedia (Maybe don't answer the phone if it rings while you read this FPP).
posted by Wordshore at 8:35 AM PST - 15 comments

Public radio stations WNYC (New York), KPCC (Southern California), and WAMU (Washington, D.C.) have joined together to acquire key assets of Gothamist and its associated sites LAist and DCist. The acquisition is being funded in large part through philanthropic donations from two anonymous donors. Is this another indication of the rising wave of nonprofit journalism? [more inside]
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:14 AM PST - 22 comments

Confinement (promo) is an ongoing horror-comedy animated series by Lord Bung based on the stories of the SCP Foundation (Previously). The episodes so far: "The Cannibal" (SCP-082), "The Singing Forest" (SCP-407), "The Robot" (SCP-1360), and "The Girl in the Iceberg" (SCP-1836).
posted by a car full of lions at 7:32 AM PST - 8 comments

Rations for various RPG Races
posted by griphus at 7:15 AM PST - 52 comments

Cocaine & Rhinestones is a podcast on the history of 20th century country music hosted by Tyler Mahan Coe. The first season, 14 episodes plus a Q&A show, is now complete. In addition to the podcasts, there are transcripts and research notes for each show. [more inside]
posted by maurice at 5:02 AM PST - 8 comments

A story told by my grandfather sparked a fascination. Far to the east lies a land, wild and vast, inhabited by the legendary warriors who rescued my grandfather. Mongolia. For fifteen years, I’ve returned to this country, seeking to understand the raw beauty and tenacity that shapes those who call it home. A stunning photo essay
posted by smoke at 2:53 AM PST - 8 comments

Two papers published yesterday suggest that Neanderthals were creating cave art in Europe thousands of years before modern humans arrived on the continent. As well as using pigments on cave walls, they were painting lines and one, very spine-tingling, hand print. Palaeolithic archaeologist Becky Wragg Sykes on the findings and some more context. [more inside]
posted by Helga-woo at 2:37 AM PST - 7 comments

How Hollywood Salaries Really Work
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:06 AM PST - 16 comments