June 12, 2017

3 Generations of Tools, Photographed

3 Generations of Tools, Photographed
I'm a third generation stagehand. My father and grandfather were both theatrical carpenters, and my father is also an antique tool collector. Many of the images are literally the drawers out of his roadbox and various tool chests at his home, others are some of my favorite pieces of his. I've been posting them with my recollections of a lifetime with these tools, or with stories from my father or grandfather.
A rather hypnotizing collection of photographs from MeFi's own nevercalm. [via mefi projects]
posted by Anonymous at 10:11 PM PST - 20 comments

The Wayne family fortune

How does Batman make all his money? - and other questions raised by Bruce Wayne being rich as hell.
posted by Artw at 4:04 PM PST - 68 comments

Liberating ideas

Unbound is a crowdfunding site specifically for writers/readers. They've successfully funded (ie published) numerous books and always have live projects seeking funding. Brought to you by the wonderful people behind the always-awesome Backlisted Podcast.
posted by dobbs at 4:03 PM PST - 10 comments

We live in an erotic renaissance that is unprecedented in human history.

Pornhub Is the Kinsey Report of Our Time. 'The streaming sex empire may have done more to expand the sexual dreamscape than Helen Gurley Brown, Masters and Johnson, or Sigmund Freud.' Text article. Possibly NSFW
posted by zarq at 2:42 PM PST - 65 comments

The Long, Lonely Road of Chelsea Manning

The New York Times has published a longform interview of Chelsea Manning "In January 2017, after being locked up at five different facilities, in conditions a United Nations expert called “cruel” and “inhumane,” Manning had received a surprise commutation by President Barack Obama. Four months later, she was free, trying to adjust to life in a world she helped shape."
posted by indubitable at 2:20 PM PST - 22 comments

What if Free Outdoor Theater is the Greatest Threat to Our Democracy?

Last night, shortly before the Tony Awards, Delta Airlines and the Bank of America announced that they would withdraw sponsorship from the Public Theatre over a production of Julius Caesar currently being staged in Central Park, which has been in previews since May 23. The production makes direct references to the current administration in the White House. [more inside]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:16 PM PST - 63 comments

The eighth natural wonder of the world may not be lost after all

New Zealand's Pink and White Terraces (Te Otukapuarangi in Maori) may not be lost after all. Hailed as breathtaking, the enormous silica sinter deposits were on either side of Lake Rotomahana. Assumed lost in the eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886, a geologist's long-overlooked diaries indicate they may be in a different location than was believed... and researchers say they may be simply covered in ashes and mud. An excavation is being planned.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:38 PM PST - 3 comments

"Now then, Pooh. Time for a little something!"

From The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour in 1970: "Chapter 6: In Which Eeyore Has a Birthday and Gets Two Presents" from A.A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh. (work-safe, family-safe, spoken-word only). [more inside]
posted by ardgedee at 11:54 AM PST - 8 comments

Tension is who you think you should be; relaxation is who you are

Cats massaging dogs is totally [ambient sound] a thing [peaceful music]. (Me, I think they're up to something [devious whispering].) (Previously)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:22 AM PST - 14 comments

"We struggled - boy, did we struggle - with this decision"

In Tarceva, Genentech discovered that they had a perfectly-targeted drug: Only patients with specific mutations in their epidermal growth factor receptor gene responded to the cancer-controlling drug. But there was one big problem: They were already selling $150 million a year worth of the drug to cancer patients for whom it didn't work.
posted by clawsoon at 10:53 AM PST - 54 comments

Smoochy Woochy Poochy

Can't tell your "Purple Haze" from your "Purple Rain"? The DEA's tremendous drug slang dictionary is here to help, now with a handy quiz!
posted by chrchr at 10:40 AM PST - 35 comments

"There has to be tension. There has to be an adversary."

There are plenty of writing guides by the old guard, so how about a master class in writing narrative nonfiction with Susan Orlean, Isabel Wilkerson, Jacqui Banaszynski, Katherine Boo, Lillian Ross, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Sonia Nazario and many more women journalists. [more inside]
posted by not_the_water at 10:27 AM PST - 16 comments

Loving, 50 Years Later

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark Supreme Court decision that invalidated state laws restricting interracial marriage. Recently, we asked readers to share their experiences about being in a mixed-race relationship. We received more than 2,000 stories in just a few days. Some wrote about the resistance they faced from family and society, while others celebrated the particular richness of their lives. Here are some of those stories.
posted by cynical pinnacle at 9:56 AM PST - 20 comments

A mouse in cricket's clothing

In a land without mammals, giant insects filled in for small furry animals Now large hairless mammals are making heroic efforts to conserve one of the world's unloveliest beasties. The weta can weigh up to 70 grams and thrived until the mammals came.
posted by alloneword at 9:06 AM PST - 25 comments

Yes, whales are big. But WHY are whales big?

"Why did whales get so enormous?" First, it's because of baleen, which allows efficient filtration of large quantities of small food (e.g., krill) from water. But then the start of the last great ice age 5 million years ago pushed nutrients into the sea, causing a leap in krill populations, which itself caused a gigantic leap of baleen whales' size. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan at 8:53 AM PST - 12 comments

Bovine brilliance

I say Moo! You say Party! Script monologues and dialogues between ASCII-art cows. That's really it. Does there need to be more? [via mefi projects]
posted by veggieboy at 6:18 AM PST - 17 comments

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