March 14, 2017

Diving elk and Princess Trixie, the world's wisest horse, in Denver

We previously reviewed the unusual history of diving show horses, but did you know that a prime attraction in one of Denver's oldest amusement parks, a large water park called The Chutes or Chutes Park, was a troupe of diving elk? Depending on what you're looking for in animal tricks, they may be of lesser interest than Princess Trixie, whose autobiography promoted her as the Wisest and Most Highly Educated Horse in the World, where she didn't have many kind words for her fellow four-legged proteges of Dr. W. H. Barnes. (via a passing note from Historic Denver)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:07 PM PST - 2 comments

Well isn't this the pits

Lucky Peach likely to close in May "Lucky Peach, the six-year-old indie food media outfit from writer Peter Meehan and restaurant mogul and Momofuku founder Dave Chang, is going through a major upheaval. The entire staff learned on Monday afternoon that their employment would end in May." The magazine won nine James Beard awards — including Publication of the Year in 2016 — and a National Magazine Award for General Excellence. [more inside]
posted by CrystalDave at 9:46 PM PST - 20 comments

My Jetpack

Cartoons for New Scientist, New Yorker and more. Tumblr posts by Tom Gauld, cartoonists website, Linked before here, but worth another look. previously, previouslier, even previouslierer.
posted by Death and Gravity at 9:09 PM PST - 10 comments

Surfboard repair, and shop cats

Websurfing? Yeah, there's fascinating stuff out there I knew nothing about this, happened on it while looking up heat damage on computer boards. Delightful stuff here, whether you're into it or not.
posted by hank at 8:55 PM PST - 7 comments

Bird whistles, flutes, percussion

Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass.
This long out-of-print 1983 album by the Japanese percussionist and composer has finally seen the light of day with a reissue on We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want To Records and Palto Flats Records.
Andy Beta at Pitchfork has a thorough review that helps provide context. [more inside]
posted by Going To Maine at 6:12 PM PST - 14 comments

Darkness is good.

The 1930s were humanity's darkest, bloodiest hour. Are you paying attention?
The Guardian takes a special look back at an era bookended by the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the outbreak of the second world war, and asks: what lessons can be learnt from this 'low, dishonest decade'? which was for Roald Dahl a golden age for chocolate.
posted by adamvasco at 5:28 PM PST - 13 comments

If you run that world, that's on you.

Raph Koster, celebrated game designer/creative director (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies) and author (A Theory of Fun for Game Design), discusses the ethical obligations of creators toward their online communities at this year's Game Developers Conference. [more inside]
posted by longdaysjourney at 4:49 PM PST - 24 comments

Who, Indeed?

Many people, when presented with a speech-driven software agent, are tempted to ask the big questions, to see how smart the system actually is. For example, "Who poop?" The answer provided by Amazon's Alexa may suprise you!
posted by murphy slaw at 4:17 PM PST - 27 comments

Home is the mouth of a shark

When migrants are apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection their personal items are confiscated. A janitor found mountains of these items in the trash. Being a photographer, he did the only thing he could: he took pictures.
posted by Cobalt at 1:35 PM PST - 26 comments

Picasso at Work

A supercut of Pablo Picasso painting, drawing, sculpting, engraving, and puttering around in his studio.
posted by Copronymus at 1:33 PM PST - 7 comments

Rule 2: You are a GODDAMN BEAR

Honey Heist is a free tabletop roleplaying game that can be played with a single six-sided die in which your band of hardened criminals must organize the heist of the century during HONEYCON 2017, hampered only slightly by the fact that they are literal bears. (SLimgur)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:32 PM PST - 41 comments

O'Flannagan's (est 2017)

How *do* you go about outfitting your fake Irish pub, anyway?

Fake Irish pubs previously
posted by Chrysostom at 12:37 PM PST - 85 comments

Get Ur Teletubbies On

The Teletubbies perform Missy Elliot's Get Ur Freak On
The Teletubbies perform Die Antewoord's I Fink U Freeky
(previously)
posted by Room 641-A at 11:40 AM PST - 19 comments

Just Short of Being a Con Man, But No More Than Anyone in the Art World

An artist who created precise drawings of money and then used them in actual transactions as a way to question notions of value, J.S.G. Boggs died [January 23rd] at a hotel in Tampa, Florida, according to friends and reports on social media. (ArtNet) [more inside]
posted by chavenet at 11:38 AM PST - 13 comments

A world with real monsters

Guillermo del Toro at MIA - Metafilter’s own Max Sparber takes a look at the "At Home With Monsters" show, fascism, and the importance of del Toro’s work right now. Previously.
posted by Artw at 11:21 AM PST - 11 comments

Meritocracy rewards bad people for writing good code

It is well-know that the tech industry has a problem with women. Is it any surprise that the alt-right is involved?
posted by Lycaste at 11:12 AM PST - 73 comments

EveryName.info | An unordered list of every name

An unordered list of every name. All the names there are. [via mefi projects]
posted by bondcliff at 11:04 AM PST - 57 comments

Gender-bending vintage photography

Transgender and gender non-conforming people aren't new, of course. Vintage photos show that people have been defying norms for a long time, even if only in the photo studio. It's not clear which of these people are actually transgender, cross-dressing, doing it for political reasons, or just having a lark. But they're fun and sometimes glamorous. (more Paris glamor) [some outdated terminology, potential misgendering] [more inside]
posted by AFABulous at 10:01 AM PST - 19 comments

"You're not planning to go to the lighthouse, are you, Lily."

Lighthouses engulfed in ice
posted by thatwhichfalls at 8:48 AM PST - 13 comments

Mad libs, but for fashion

It's hard to be a busy mom, always crawling after your adorable and impeccably attired #babiesofinstagramand getting mud all over the knees of your high-end designer #momjeans. Luckily for you, Nordstrom has taken a quick break from not suffering at all from Twitler attacks to introduce Clear Knee Mom Jeans.
posted by Etrigan at 8:34 AM PST - 54 comments

AT&T dismissed the idea that providers would redline

The Digital Redlining Of Cleveland A new report from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance finds that AT&T systematically deployed high speed technology to wealthier homes, while relegating poorer neighborhoods to the slowest connections. [more inside]
posted by doctornemo at 7:14 AM PST - 32 comments

So many good dogs!

On Sunday, Crufts 2017 international canine extravaganza awarded Best In Show to an American Cocker Spaniel named Afterglow Miami Ink, accompanied by the inevitable grumbling from naysayers and celebrity comparisons. Miami is a very good dog, but that's not why we're here today. [more inside]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 7:08 AM PST - 21 comments

Listen to the clouds

Live transmissions from airports around the world set to ambient music. For even more ambiance, combine with Astronaut. [more inside]
posted by Foci for Analysis at 6:08 AM PST - 15 comments

Understanding e to the pi i, reprise

Euler's formula with introductory group theory [slyt] - "How some perspectives from group theory shed light on a way the formula e^(pi i) = -1 can make intuitive sense."
posted by kliuless at 2:34 AM PST - 20 comments

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