April 16, 2015
Gawker media staff push for unionisation
If the effort is successful, Gawker Media would be the first major online media company to unionise.
Shane Ortega served three combat tours: two as a woman, one as a man.
Army soldier Shane Ortega comes out as transgender as the military evaluates their policies on transgender service members. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the US lags behind other countries in allowing people to serve openly. [more inside]
You Wouldn't Believe Our World
In 1985, multinational conglomerate Majesco Industries changed its name to MJI. To publicize this change to its employees, subsidiaries, shareholders and partners, it commissioned an industrial video... [more inside]
War is so compelling even pacifists pay money to be entertained by it
Sebastian Junger Knows Why Young Men Go to War “I think this is probably the first society in history that actively discourages an intelligent conversation about what manhood should require of men”
War for profit - The Return of the Mercenary.
Private armies, and the technology they use, are changing warfare.
Blackwater’s Legacy Goes Beyond Public View.
Facts About Private Military Companies.
Excerpted from "The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean For World Order"
The private military business is a large and growing industry that can be expected to grow larger in the future.
Blackwater’s Legacy Goes Beyond Public View.
Facts About Private Military Companies.
Excerpted from "The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean For World Order"
The private military business is a large and growing industry that can be expected to grow larger in the future.
Did Doodie Do It?
A forensic psychiatrist and first cousin, once-removed,
examines the sad case of a dreamer who left behind riddles, explanations, and a confession to a series of
unsolved murders.
The Passport Power Index
The Passport Index is an interactive tool, which collects, displays and ranks the passports of the world, based on how many countries their holders can visit without obtaining a visa before arrival or at all.
Museum Dance Off 2
Museum Dance Off 2. 28 participating museums have created videos showcasing their staff/interns/volunteers etc. dancing and lip-syncing to their melody of choice. Voting begins on April 20 and runs through April 29, with several museum dance videos highlighted each day, out of which viewers choose one favorite. Those favorites will ultimately battle it out in the next rounds, until only one is left standing. Anyone can vote, from anywhere in the world.
Voting rules and videos are at the main link. Here is the official trailer. Smithsonian Magazine article on the competition.
"THERE IS NO BIRTH CONTROL EXCEPT CONDOMS AND THEY FAIL."
A bioethicist, at her son's request, sat in on his public high school sex-ed class -- which taught "abstinence only" -- and livetweeted it. [more inside]
I heard you like incremental games...
"My culture, their culture, our culture."
None More 80s
Last year, Laser Unicorns raised over $630,000 to create their 80s-inspired kung fu cop movie that involved time travel, ancient gods, dinosaurs, and Nintendo Power Gloves. All made with virtual sets and a shoestring budget.
They've now released the movie's theme song, starring David Hasselhoff. How much more 80s could it be? None. None more 80s.
Previously on MetaFilter
1:35!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wolf Proverbs
Growth Over All
Journalist Felix Salmon brings us up to speed on the increasingly strange and complicated saga of The Cooper Union School For The Advancement Of Science And Art, one of the last historically free schools in the US for Art, Architecture and Engineering, which may be brought down by shameless trustees, incompetent management, the State Attorney General, or pure greed. (Cooper Union charging tuition previously. Cooper Union students occupying the president's office previously)
The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight
Britney Girl Dale
If you’ve driven Ritchie Highway where Baltimore spills into Anne Arundel County, or vice versa, you’ve probably seen her shaking her money maker and stopping traffic. Britney Girl Dale, the alter ego of Dale Crites, has become something of a celebrity here in Baltimore and she now has herself a short documentary, courtesy of filmmaker Dan Bell. The film, now showing on YouTube and embedded below, shows Britney Girl Dale and her pal Anthony doing what they do best within their South Baltimore and Anne Arundel County stomping grounds. Britney Girl Dale’s mission is to entertain the masses- whether they want to be entertained or not. Already semi-famous, Britney has appeared on 98 Rock and has already broken YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, in that order, but this film gives us a glimpse into her daily existence. Filmmaker Dan Bell shows us why Dale transforms himself into Britney, and Bell’s film shows the love, the hate, and the drama that revolves around the daily grind of being Ritchie Highway’s biggest star. The short is absolutely hilarious at times (especially when Anthony chimes in), but it’s not all beeps and hollas out there on the streets. There are also several sobering and sad moments that paint a complex picture of two of Baltimore’s most unique characters. (NSFW)
Search algorithms have learned our nefarious ways
New research from Carnegie Mellon reveals: Ads for careerchange.com advertising "$200k+ Jobs - Execs Only" were shown roughly 1,800 times to the “male” profiles and only around 300 times to the “female” profiles.
"Somebody called on the... PHONE!"
They don’t get why someone would care about old photos.
The strange saga of John Rogers, the man who bought the Star Tribune's vintage photo archive
The thought that big-city newspapers like the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press here in Minnesota — and others in Chicago, Detroit and Denver (and 72 New Zealand newspapers) — were willing to hand over (for a nice price) one of their (and their community’s) most valuable historical archives to a character like Rogers is startling in itself, and may explain why so little has been said about the deal.
Solving hard science problems, healing PTSD with Psychedelics
Tim Ferriss interviews Jim Fadiman Involved with psychedelic research since the 1960s, Fadiman discusses the immediate and long-term effects of psychedelics when used for spiritual purposes (high dose), therapeutic purposes (moderate dose), and problem-solving purposes (low dose). Fascinating stories about solving really hard science problems, healing PTSD, depression, and trauma.
The Capitalist's Zombie
Here’s a question: how can you tell whether a given charming little cafe with attractive hipster baristas, distressed furniture, and chalkboard menus is the real thing or a very carefully crafted fiction created by a giant corporation with a talented marketing staff? [more inside]
Sweet Briar didn’t die, it was put down.
Stewardship and Legacy: Sweet Briar and the Future of Women-Only Higher Education (Previously) [more inside]
Library of Congress Launches Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature
The Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress dates back to 1943, when Allen Tate was Consultant in Poetry. It contains nearly two thousand recordings—of poets and prose writers participating in literary events at the Library’s Capitol Hill campus as well as sessions at the Library’s Recording Laboratory.
Highlights from the collection include:
Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury, Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Mario Vargas Llosa, Rita Dove, Elizabeth Bishop, Gwendolyn Brooks, W.S. Merwin, Sandra Cisneros, Amy Clampitt, Robert Pinsky , and Miłosz, Czesław, among many others. [more inside]
Shot To Remember
Eight years after it aired, the finale of The Sopranos continues to be hotly debated. David Chase explains how he created the excruciating tension of the last scene. What he won't say is what happened at the end... "When it's over," Chase offers, "I think you're probably always blindsided by it. That's all I can say." [Previously. Previouslier.]
When In Roma
The unveiling of a new sporting venue is, in and of itself, not terribly out of the ordinary. In fact, there have been numerous new stadium projects proposed for Rome over the years, though none have made it past the mock-up stage. There is a sense on this day, however, that something is different. It is because of the two suited figures sitting at the center of the room, businessmen known throughout Rome simply as gli Americani — the Americans.
Charging toward an era of genetically modified humans
The CRISPR Revolution [ungated: 1,2,3] - "Biologists continue to hone their tools for deleting, replacing or otherwise editing DNA and a strategy called CRISPR has quickly become one of the most popular ways to do genome engineering. Utilizing a modified bacterial protein and a RNA that guides it to a specific DNA sequence, the CRISPR system provides unprecedented control over genes in many species, including perhaps humans. This control has allowed many new types of experiments, but also raised questions about what CRISPR can enable." [more inside]
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