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Covid-19, or how the West was undone by its assertion of civilizational difference bordering on provincial narcissism, by Mukul Kesavan "It is as if best practice in policy and civil society behaviour was discounted because it didn’t originate in the West, as if city streets filled with masked citizens represented an assimilation of the individual into the herd. What began as an assertion of civilizational difference turned out to be no more than provincial narcissism."
posted by dum spiro spero at 11:34 PM PST - 125 comments

It was supposed to be "91 'Til Infinity," but the Souls of Mischief were in high school, sending demos out and trying to land something. Two years later, they were pulling together an album and A-Plus pulled some samples from a Billy Cobham track (Who Sampled) for a more uptempo version that would become the East Oakland group's sleeper hit track 93 'Til Infinity (YouTube). This is a sampling of the oral history of the title track of a fantastic album (YouTube playlist), one of three albums to come out in 1993 from the Heirogliphics crew, the others being Del the Funky Homosapien's No Need for Alarm (YT pl) and Casual's Fear Itself (YT pl). [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:47 PM PST - 12 comments

Is the British Museum's collection...homesick?

On one occasion a guard bolted the double doors and moved on to the next room, only to be informed by a CCTV operator that the doors stood wide open again. Video footage of the gallery showed them moving spontaneously. Sometimes it’s a sudden drop in temperature, like the unnerving patches of cold air that linger next to the winged, human-headed bull of Nimrud at the entrance to the Assyrian galleries. Sometimes it’s the sound of footsteps, or music, or crying, where no obvious source can be found.

“These stories seem to suggest that the objects themselves are restless.” (sl1843Magazine/The Economist)
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 7:36 PM PST - 46 comments

As Stevie Wonder turns 70, a look at how he wrote the soundtrack for a fragile America: "Signed to Motown’s Tamla imprint at the age of 11, the artist then known as 'Little Stevie Wonder' landed his first Billboard Hot 100 hit at 13 with 'Fingertips – Pt. 2.' By the time that original Motown contract ended in 1971, the 21-year-old Wonder had already amassed 13 studio albums (15 total). But over the next five years, Wonder unleashed five albums in a peerless display of both musical excellence and social conscience. It started with Music of My Mind and Talking Book in 1972, Innervisions in 1973, and climaxed with Fulfillingness’ First Finale in 1974 and Songs in the Key of Life in 1976." [more inside]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:53 PM PST - 26 comments

Once you become one of the approximately 275 people have done the Seven Summit challenge, climbing the tallest peaks on seven continents, what's next? How about becoming the first person to reach the deepest depths of all the five oceans? [SLNewYorker]
posted by ShooBoo at 3:47 PM PST - 19 comments

In Sleepless Domain, a webcomic about brave magical girls confronting demons (outer and inner), a transgender magical girl is eventually mentioned, and a few months later is established as an existing character who gets her own adventure and has flower-themed magic powers. She discusses transitioning, having wanted to become a magical girl, her excitement over having a girl's name, and the time before she was "out as a girl," but none of these moments define her. [more inside]
posted by one for the books at 2:59 PM PST - 7 comments

David Lynch used to record short video weather reports for his website, then he stopped. Now, he’s started again, using YouTube.
Weather Report 5/11/20
Weather Report 5/12/20
Weather Report 5/13/20 [more inside]
posted by Going To Maine at 1:35 PM PST - 21 comments

THIS LONG CENTURY
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:47 PM PST - 4 comments

Here at Time, we’ve made a few changes you may already be experiencing that we think you should know about. (SLMcSweeney's)
posted by Etrigan at 12:09 PM PST - 27 comments

Every episode of The Office (US) recreated in Slack, live.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:46 AM PST - 6 comments

The holy trinity of tambourine according to musician Jack Stratton of funk band Vulfpeck
1. Sandra Crouch (tambourine solo queued up)
2. Jack Ashford
3. Norman Whitfield
Also in the Holy Trinities series:
Minimalist Funk Arrangers
(Rhythm) Guitar [more inside]
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:11 AM PST - 13 comments

"Yet, this past January, that’s precisely what University of New Hampshire assistant philosophy professor Subrena Smith’s paper tried to do. 'Is Evolutionary Psychology Possible?' describes a major issue with evolutionary psychology, called the matching problem." [Gizmodo] [more inside]
posted by Ouverture at 11:07 AM PST - 80 comments

Calvin and Hobbes and quarantine [Polygon] “Calvin was looking for a way out. He was trying to escape. He didn’t like school, so he fled it as Spaceman Spiff. Bathtime, a nightmare for small children, saw Calvin turning into a tub shark or being attacked by a bubble-bath elemental. He escaped the corporeal form of a kid’s (arguably limited) body with the Transmogrifier, and most importantly of all, escaped loneliness by befriending a stuffed tiger who Calvin knew was actually real. A tiger who listened to him, who challenged him, and who ultimately loved him. Because that’s the thing, isn’t it? Calvin went to school, had a loving family, but even still, he felt alone. And his imagination gave him a way not to feel that anymore.” [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 10:12 AM PST - 18 comments

Lessons from Jeju: Freediving and Motherhood with Kimi Werner (Youtube) "Seven months pregnant and apprehensive of the effect motherhood would have on her career as a professional freediver, Kimi Werner took a trip to the island of Jeju in South Korea to meet her heroes, the haenyeo – a group of freediving and fishing women often regarded as Korea’s first working mother’s whose culture dates back centuries." Related: Meet Kimi Werner: The Woman Who Rode a Great White Shark [more inside]
posted by not_the_water at 9:32 AM PST - 7 comments

Hamilton coming to Disney+ on July 3. That’s it. What a time to be alive. It did not seem right for the news to go unremarked on here.
posted by mwhybark at 5:44 AM PST - 76 comments

Bart the other Mothman is in lockdown with hundreds of giant atlas moths. Farmed moths from the Philippines, meant to be shipped to customers, they've now hatched all through his house. Come for the chaos, stay for the delightfully furry moths and conservation behind collecting and breeding winged butterflies and moths. Also disco. Bart's website breeding butterflies will help turn you into the lepidopterist you've always hoped to be. Hat-tip to vacapinta who posted an earlier moth science project by another Bart.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 1:28 AM PST - 20 comments

Robert Pattinson was interviewed by Zach Baron for GQ to promote the upcoming Christopher Nolan film Tenet, but everybody’s talking about Pattinson’s “pasta which you can hold in your hand”.
posted by Kattullus at 1:19 AM PST - 34 comments

From WIRED: "The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet" A level headed account of the man who stopped the WannaCry ransomware, and his subsequent arrest.
posted by benoliver999 at 12:45 AM PST - 35 comments