April 9, 2018

“We are just in utter disbelief and shock at the loss...”

15 Dead in Canadian Bus Crash Involving Humboldt Broncos Junior Hockey Team [CBC.ca] “The death toll from the bus crash involving a Saskatchewan junior hockey team bus has risen to 15, a day after the tragedy impacting players, personnel and others with the Humboldt Broncos. The RCMP said the 15th person died Saturday after the crash involving the bus, which was carrying 29 people including the driver, and a semi-trailer. Another 14 people were injured — some critically — in the collision about 30 kilometres north of Tisdale, Sask. ” [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 9:20 PM PST - 50 comments

The biggest Black Lives Matter page on Facebook is fake

"For at least a year, the biggest page on Facebook purporting to be part of the Black Lives Matter movement was a scam with ties to a middle-aged white man in Australia, a review of the page and associated accounts and websites conducted by CNN shows." (by Donie O'Sullivan)
posted by J.K. Seazer at 5:19 PM PST - 30 comments

"Australians call this a fish, when it's clearly a fish."

Jordan Watson, of How to Dad fame, explains the differences between Australia and New Zealand: Part 1, Part 2. (h/t Miss Cellania)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:02 PM PST - 28 comments

We learn from every natural disaster.

Puerto Ricans and ultrarich "Puertopians" are locked in a pitched struggle over how to remake the island. Naomi Klein.
posted by adamvasco at 4:39 PM PST - 6 comments

Homes 'Earn' Minimum Wage or More in Half the Nation's Largest Cities

From Zillow Research: Overall, owners of the median-valued home in 24 of the nation’s 50 largest cities earned more in equity per hour over the past year than their local minimum wage. But homeowners in a handful of U.S. cities made out a lot better than that – in some cases much, much better. [more inside]
posted by Existential Dread at 2:55 PM PST - 65 comments

When do you know you're old enough to die?

(The Guardian) When do you know you're old enough to die? [ Barbara] Ehrenreich – who holds a PhD in cellular immunology – casts a skeptical, sometimes witty, and scientifically rigorous eye over the beliefs we hold that we think will give us longevity. She targets the medical examinations, screenings and tests we’re subjected to in older age as well as the multibillion-dollar “wellness” industry, the cult of mindfulness and food fads. These all give us the illusion that we are in control of our bodies...“I’m sorry, I’m not going out of this life without butter on my bread. I’ve had so much grief from people about butter. The most important thing is that food tastes good enough to eat it. I like a glass of wine or a bloody mary, too.” [more inside]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:24 PM PST - 65 comments

Stories of Almost Everyone (slyt)

Will Ferrell and Joel McHale visit the Hammer Museum. There is modern art. It is appreciated, and the piss is taken. A good time had by all.
posted by Guy Smiley at 1:10 PM PST - 28 comments

Light Shows in SF / Hippies & Guns

Bill Ham and his San Francisco light show was an immersive ocular experience for audiences and musicians alike. Without the light shows, San Francisco’s fabled music halls, where everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton held court, would have resembled just so many more run-down auditoriums and crumbling former ice rinks. And then it kept expanding and growing. There's lots of technical info about how he brought his light shows into being. [more inside]
posted by MovableBookLady at 12:30 PM PST - 6 comments

(The Problem With (The Problem With (The Problem With Apu)))

'The Simpsons' To 'The Problem With Apu': Drop Dead — NPR's (and MeFi's Own) Linda Holmes on the show's ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ at Hari Kondabolu's criticism. [more inside]
posted by tonycpsu at 12:24 PM PST - 116 comments

If I don't save the wee turtles, who will?

Afroz Shah and fellow volunteers have spent the last two years in the “world’s largest beach cleanup project”, and baby turtles are back.
posted by Hypatia at 11:41 AM PST - 6 comments

What makes this song great?

In his 'What Makes This Song Great' video series, musician and producer Rick Beato breaks down the musical structure and production techniques in popular songs. Working from the stems of each song, he discusses everything from Sting's Lydian mode bassline, to the use of Neumann mics to capture the intensity of Chris Cornell's vocals; from sidechain compression in an Ariana Grande song, to the use of a flat 6th to introduce a melancholy air in to the vocal melody of a Tool song. Beato's enthusiasm and breadth of knowledge are boundless, and whether or not you like the songs he analyzes, you're sure to learn something. [more inside]
posted by googly at 9:38 AM PST - 43 comments

Who's Afraid of Jan Levinson-Gould?

An oral history of the most excruciating episode of The Office (US): The Dinner Party.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:23 AM PST - 28 comments

The Philharmonic Turntable Orchestera plays Mendelssohn

The Philharmonic Turntable Orchestera plays Mendelssohn to celebrate the 67th anniversary of the Long Player. Maybe there'll be more classical pieces performed in the future.
posted by brokeaspoke at 9:07 AM PST - 7 comments

*krrrk krrk krrk click*

Conserve The Sound, an online museum for the sounds made by vanishing and endangered technology. [more inside]
posted by zamboni at 8:49 AM PST - 20 comments

Those shrooms will creep up on you

What if Mario moved like one of the Bloopers or Jellyfish? What if the entire Mushroom Kingdom was made of that same undulating flesh, quivering and pulsing unsettlingly beneath the flailing boot or diving face of a lurching, heaving plumber? What if you could play... Jelly Mario? (via RPS)
posted by FatherDagon at 7:59 AM PST - 18 comments

Better use your towels, hoopy froods

The research findings largely square with other data showing that hot-air dryers and jet dryers can launch and disperse germs from hands into the air and onto surfaces—essentially setting off a very dirty bathroom bomb. But the new study clearly demonstrates that the less powerful hot-air dryers can also bathe hands with germs already swirling in the wash room. Hot-air dryers suck in nasty bathroom bacteria and shoot them at your hands. [Ars Technica]
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 6:38 AM PST - 122 comments

The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma

Junot Diaz in The New Yorker I ran the way I’ve always run. Like death itself was chasing me. For a couple of days afterward I fretted; I worried that I’d given myself away. But then the old oblivion reflex took over. I pushed it all down. Buried it all. Like always.
posted by chaoticgood at 6:33 AM PST - 40 comments

The Dream Of Leisure

Who Stole The Four-Hour Workday? A four-hour workday could solve a lot of our problems. If everyone worked fewer hours, there would be more jobs for the unemployed to fill. The economy wouldn't be able to produce quite as much, which means it wouldn't be able to pollute as much. (Vice)
posted by The Whelk at 1:14 AM PST - 76 comments

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