May 13, 2015

A Year in the Metabolist Future of 1972

Tokyo's Nakagin Capsule Tower [previously] was designed to be upgraded every 20 years or so. Instead it's been slowly disintegrating for more than 40. Two young architects lived there for a year and described what it's like. [more inside]
posted by moonmilk at 8:32 PM PST - 41 comments

"Every surgeon carries within himself a small cemetery."

“Nobody, nobody other than a neurosurgeon, understands what it is like to have to drag yourself up to the ward and see, every day—sometimes for months on end—somebody one has destroyed and face the anxious and angry family at the bedside.” The schoolteacher lived on in just this way. Seven years after that failed surgery, Marsh was visiting a home for vegetative patients when he looked into a room and “saw his grey curled-up body in its bed.” Of the feelings such experiences produce in him, Marsh writes, “I will not describe the pain.” [more inside]
posted by un petit cadeau at 8:28 PM PST - 28 comments

America's Teachers are Underpaid? Surprise, surprise.

The top 25 hedge fund managers earn more than all kindergarten teachers in U.S. combined. "'Last year turned out to be the worst one for this elite group of investors since the stock market meltdown of 2008,' Institutional Investors' Stephen Taub writes, adding, 'How bad was it?' apparently without irony." [more inside]
posted by ourt at 7:43 PM PST - 83 comments

“It's about this little girl who finds a little kitten.”

Experimental writer Mark Z. Danielewski discusses his newest project, which he says is as energizing as it is terrifying. [Kirkus Reviews]
"Mark Z. Danielewski knows he’s embarking on a journey as unlikely as it is impressive. “On one hand it’s ridiculously ambitious,” Danielewski says. “But, on the other, maybe it’s just a little more transparent about an ambition that many people have in their profession.” Danielewski, almost certainly America’s most renowned and popular experimental writer, is already known for exploring and expanding the novel’s outer edges. Yet his newest project is an undertaking that will take him years, even decades, to complete. One Rainy Day in May is the first volume of The Familiar, a project slated to fill an epic 27 volumes. That’s right, 27 volumes.
[more inside]
posted by Fizz at 6:47 PM PST - 57 comments

Or is it a tiny curator?

What is an octobass?, you may have wondered. The answer: It is a ridiculously huge bass.
posted by theodolite at 6:45 PM PST - 30 comments

Ceiling boar is watching you shop

In the fine tradition of ceiling cat, ceiling boar. [more inside]
posted by limeonaire at 6:15 PM PST - 17 comments

A tribute not structured as a Top 10 List

David Letterman's coming retirement after 6,000 episodes has prompted a look back at some of his best bits, including many of his writers reflecting on the greatest jokes that never made it on air (with comments from David himself). Splitsider has a year-by-year video breakdown of the best material (including John Malkovitch at his creepiest and an amazing bit with Elaine Stritch). The New York Times weighs in with their favorites, while Rolling Stone lists his favorite guests, tensest interviews, best musical numbers (some are very good!), and asks if the famously grumpy Letterman is happy at last.
posted by blahblahblah at 4:53 PM PST - 69 comments

TimeSinkTimeSinkTimeSinkTimeSink

The beinArt Collective is an international network of highly skilled figurative artists with a shared fascination for surreal and imaginative themes.
There are three pages of artists which all link on to the artists own websites.
There is also a page with links to some interesting magazines, and beinArt has an active FB page
Some pages NSFW and some could induce nightmares.
posted by adamvasco at 4:41 PM PST - 3 comments

30 years ago, the only police aerial bombing on US soil left 11 people dead

Sodden from the spray of fire hoses, terrified by the thousands of bullets fired above and the teargas floating into the cellar below, 13-year-old Michael Ward was hiding under a blanket when a police helicopter dropped a bomb on the roof of his west Philadelphia home.
The raid killed six adults and five children, destroyed more than 60 homes and left more than 250 people homeless. It stands as the only aerial bombing carried out by police on US soil.
The Guardian looks back at the MOVE bombing.
posted by Ouverture at 2:24 PM PST - 48 comments

Make it cool or I’ll kill you

The Apocalyptic Cars of Mad Max: Fury Road
“Make it cool or I’ll kill you.” That’s what director George Miller told Colin Gibson, the production designer responsible for all the cars in Mad Max: Fury Road. Gibson did one better: he made every single one of them functional, because the desert doesn’t suffer mechanical fools lightly and CGI is bullshit."
Jalopnik covers How The Man Behind The Machines Of Mad Max Put A Hellscape On Wheels
[more inside]
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:05 PM PST - 232 comments

It gets to sit right next to the MetaFilter logo. But what is it?

The 'hamburger' icon is over 30 years old, and it's still a mystery to many users. Unlike the magnifying glass skeuomorph, which most people recognise as meaning 'search', the three horizontal bars used to represent 'menu' (or 'there's more stuff under here that you're less likely to need') is one of the most debated UX choices in web design. [more inside]
posted by Gin and Broadband at 2:00 PM PST - 68 comments

“Smoking is an older friend than almost anybody I know.”

Being Towards Death is a short documentary by Whit Missildine / The Permatemp Corporation consisting of short interviews with smokers about their habit. Permatemp also produces This Is Actually Happening, a podcast of freeform interviews with individuals who have had interesting, strange, and sad experiences.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:42 PM PST - 21 comments

What's the deep history of birdiness?

Scientists say they have reversed a bit of bird evolution in the lab and re-created a dinosaurlike snout in developing chickens.
posted by curious nu at 12:53 PM PST - 28 comments

"If one of you gets eaten, we will name the boat after you," I said.

In the summer of 1987, my father tried to murder me with an alligator.
posted by zarq at 12:49 PM PST - 18 comments

Marie Kondo, Tidying, and Behavioral Economics

In The Atlantic, economist Bourree Lam looks at how Marie Kondo's bestselling tidying book reflects the principles of behavioral economics. Marie Kondo previously on Metafilter. AskMe collects great advice from members on how to do KonMari.
posted by matildaben at 12:44 PM PST - 42 comments

"Picture It, The London Palladium 1988"

To celebrate what would have been Bea Arthur's 93rd birthday, let's take some time to remember when Dorothy, Blanch, Rose, and Sophia performed for the Queen Mother. [more inside]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:47 AM PST - 5 comments

Putting artists to work in World War II

The crazy idea was this: The United States Army would design a “deception unit”: a unit that would appear to the enemy as a large armored division with tanks, trucks, artillery, and thousands of soldiers. But this unit would actually be equipped only with fake tanks, fake trucks, fake artillery and manned by just a handful of soldiers.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:13 AM PST - 32 comments

"Last year a trend setter, this year a follower, next year my mom"

"That’s what makes things interesting—when you look at something, and you aren’t sure if you like it or not." Birkenstocks, the charmingly ugly "sensible shoes" long associated with crunchy hippie stereotypes, are in style once again. First brought to the United States in the 60s by Margot Fraser, the sandals enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the early 90s, and the current trend can be traced to Céline's spring 2013 fashion show. Even Manolo Blahnik is a fan. While the sandals cycle in and out of fashion, the company chugs on: "When they’re all gone… Well, we’re still here."
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:13 AM PST - 52 comments

Global War on Rats

Enemy at the Grates: On the front lines of humanity’s high-tech, global war on rats.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:04 AM PST - 36 comments

This is Not Zombotron. Welcome to Not Zombotron.

Fire Catcher [Flash] is a survival horror game from AntKarlov, creator of Zombotron [Flash; previously], Zombotron 2 [Flash; previously], and Zombotron 2: Time Machine [Flash; previously] (no relation to Zombo.com [Flash; previously] nor HTML5Zombo.com [ MeFi Projects]). The rules are simple: Catch fires to keep from catching fire yourself, then catch the ghosts catching things on fire before the spirits catch you. [more inside]
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:43 AM PST - 1 comments

East Bay Lawyer Makes Domestic Abusers Pay

When Tia Katrina Taruc Canlas studied at UC Berkeley School of Law, she learned from one of her professors, Nancy Lemon, that many survivors of domestic abuse aren't told of all their legal options. Lemon insisted that some enterprising young lawyer should use the civil code some day to seek justice for domestic violence victims. The seed was planted.

Today, Canlas, a Berkeley lawyer, has taken her professor's advice to heart, and is employing a surprisingly underused, survivor-based approach to tackle domestic violence — holding batterers financially accountable in court for their actions. [article contains descriptions of physical & sexual intimate partner abuse] [more inside]
posted by Juliet Banana at 7:51 AM PST - 41 comments

makeup tutorials are like fucking hypnosis, man

spring beauty tips for the gross and apprehensive. [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:43 AM PST - 17 comments

Tattoo essay

Don’t Call it a Tramp Stamp: How the Patriarchy Ruined My Tattoo
posted by josher71 at 6:58 AM PST - 537 comments

Stay out of the "created by AOL members" section.

Youtuber Lazy Game Reviews runs AOL 4 on Windows 8.1 in May of 2015 to see what still works, what's broken, and who's still hanging around the AOL 4 chat rooms.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:26 AM PST - 39 comments

Chicken or the Egg?

The Ecotourism Industry Is Saving Tanzania’s Animals and Threatening Its Indigenous People. "With much of the natural world in the Global North already past the point of no return, and with the effects of climate change multiplying yearly, more and more of the Global South is being cordoned off in service of a global patrimony that has little relevance to the lives of the people closest to the land. The collateral social damage of these conservationist policies presents a conundrum, a Sophie's Choice. Whose rights are preeminent—those of nature or those of the people who have always lived closest to it?"
posted by infini at 6:24 AM PST - 16 comments

Hello Kitty Restaurant

First Hello Kitty Restaurant to Open in June For the Hello Kitty fans and anyone who likes cute food
posted by Yellow at 6:09 AM PST - 15 comments

Life beyond Barney

AV Club has recently completed a series of articles on kids shows that parents won't hate: The Pre-K Years, K-1st Grade, 2nd-3rd Grade and, finally, 8 kids shows to avoid at all costs.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:43 AM PST - 126 comments

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