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"Rock Island", the opening number from The Music Man, as performed by Grace Spelman (via Instagram). [more inside]
posted by mhum at 9:19 PM PST - 21 comments

The most troubling change this project entails is giving access to sensitive location data across the entire population to a government agency. The terrifying surveillance infrastructure this project requires exists and is maintained in good working order in the hands of private industry, where it is entirely unregulated and is currently being used to try to sell people skin cream. [more inside]
posted by mecran01 at 3:30 PM PST - 97 comments

Airbnb is allowing cancellations without penalty for COVID-19 reasons. Some hosts are OUTRAGED. (I made a transcript.) [more inside]
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:59 PM PST - 132 comments

Looking for even more laidback beats? Perfect! Join Quest Love for almost eight hours of slower R'n'B jams with #dnicehomeschool Presents Quest Lovers Rock and Quest Lovers Rock: Sloppy Seconds, live mixes from Manhattan.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:22 AM PST - 5 comments

Eclectic Scottish DJ JD Twitch (best known as one-half of the duo Optimo) has launched a new project:
I’m going to upload a series of ‘mixes’ over the coming weeks of music that I find particularly calming. I will try to make these one hour sessions filled with beautiful music that is helpful and calming to listen to while we get through this extraordinarily hard time. The music here definitely helps me feel less anxious. I have just segued it together so the credit is really all due to the wonderful souls who made the tracks I used. It is also available as a 320 download.
Tranquility Mix 1
Tranquility Mix 2
posted by Going To Maine at 10:52 AM PST - 6 comments

Manu Dibango, the acclaimed Cameroonian saxophonist whose 1972 hit, “Soul Makossa,” would later be sampled by Michael Jackson, Kanye West, and dozens of other musicians, died Tuesday at the age of 86. [Rolling Stone] [more inside]
posted by nightrecordings at 10:48 AM PST - 17 comments

What about in terms of the book’s success? It’s sold a million and a half copies. “Oh, yeah, because then I made money. I made money running around the speaking, lecture circuit for years, which combined well with activism for raising wages, to the dismay of the people and the administrators who invited me.” The author of “Nickel And Dimed”, “Bright Sided” and more talks to Jia Tolentino of the New Yorker. Barbara Ehrenreich Is Not an Optimist, but She Has Hope for the Future
posted by The Whelk at 9:48 AM PST - 36 comments

Smorgasbords Don't Have Bottoms - on book publishing in the 2010s [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:47 AM PST - 11 comments

Last fall, Ktamas posted a quiz to see how many US cities you can name. Now, here is one to see how many US counties you can name. [more inside]
posted by kevinbelt at 9:42 AM PST - 18 comments

A trip down Market Street, in a new scan with an added soundtrack by sound designer Mike Upchurch. According to Lost San Francisco (Facebook link), recent analysis of the time of day, shadows, visible newspaper headlines, and license plates reveal that the film was made just days before the great quake of 1906.
posted by sunset in snow country at 7:45 AM PST - 34 comments

A team led by UC Riverside geologists has discovered the first ancestor on the family tree that contains most familiar animals today, including humans. The tiny, wormlike creature, named Ikaria wariootia, is the earliest bilaterian, or organism with a front and back, two symmetrical sides, and openings at either end connected by a gut.
posted by Etrigan at 7:39 AM PST - 22 comments

Asterix creator Albert Uderzo dies at age 92.
posted by sapagan at 6:53 AM PST - 64 comments