June 21, 2020
A boundary that guided - or warned
Following hard on the heels of MrsPotato's recent Mefi post on a 7000 year old stone circle and astronomical site in Egypt, is this - a 1.2 mile diameter circle of giant shafts around Durrington Walls, a henge monument a couple of miles from Stonehenge. [more inside]
being a pirate, be all about 'Branding'
Enemy Of All Mankind - "In the case of these two ships confronting each other in the Indian Ocean, those nearly microscopic causes will trigger a wave of effects that resonate around the world. Most confrontations like this one, viewed from the wide angle of history, are minor disputes, sparks that quickly die out. But every now and then, someone strikes a match that lights up the whole planet." [more inside]
Adam from Buzzfeed's "Worth It" makes vegan nuggets and sauce
Adam from BuzzFeed's "Worth It" YT series makes vegan nuggets and sauce. Adam from the very popular "Worth It" video series, exposes that he is as much of a charming curmudgeon as we all expected, and is also a very good instructional cook for fast-food vegan cuisine. Nuggets and ranch are on the menu!
We have saved millions of lives
In a recent episode of SciShow (YouTube), Hank Green and his writers share two pieces of good news about the COVID-19 pandemic. First is that for those who get the sickest from the disease, there is finally a drug with solid evidence that it saves lives: the commonly-available generic corticosteroid dexamethasone (Mayo Clinic). Second is that research is now becoming available to quantify exactly how effective quarantining, social distancing, and other policies and recommendations have been at reducing the spread of the virus, and it's pretty dramatic. [more inside]
A White Woman, Racism, and a Poodle
She couldn't figure out why she kept getting pulled over. "[The officer] looked in the window and flashed his light on Merlin and his demeanor changed. The stern look on his face disappeared, but he seemed…annoyed… I guess is the best word. I thought I was going to get a ticket for Merlin being in the front seat. He didn’t ask if I’d been drinking or had any weapons. He asked to see my license, looked at it under his flashlight and handed it back. Then he explained he pulled me over because I was going 3 miles under the speed limit and was impeding traffic. There were no other cars on the road. I said I was not aware of it. He told me to keep an eye on it and that he was giving me a warning. I thanked him. He walked back to his car." (via @donttrythis)
Hard Lads
Hard Lads is a new, free downloadable masculinity simulator by Robert Yang (Windows, Mac, Linux). Based on the viral video British lads hit each other with chair, Yang describes how his game echoes it in revealing “how straight mate energy is actually quite fragile ... [and] that queer love is also the force that honors masculine vulnerability, and so only we have the power to reclaim these lads.” [more inside]
The world's first astronomical site
nose
Shostakovich's first opera is a surrealist piece about a man who wakes up one day to discover his nose is missing. It features tap dancing noses.
Cook a classical feast: nine recipes from ancient Greece and Rome
Cook a classical feast: nine recipes from ancient Greece and Rome. Bored with banana bread? Whip up a classical feast with nine recipes from ancient Greece and Rome. Courtesy of The British Museum Blog [more inside]
The BlackLumberjack
Robert Rising is a vegetarian who mills his own grains, while also being proficient in antique restoration. In 2004, he set out to build his own house out of local wood, leading him to to start NYCitySlab (don't miss the blog!), a company operated and run by Rising and dedicated to saving fallen trees and rescuing and recycling beautiful slabs. Rising recently started a YouTube series called Conversations with Blacklumberjack that is well worth a watch.
“The bell's already been rung.”
Zack Snyder's Justice League [Teaser Trailer] After months and even years of campaigning by fans, stars, and Zack Snyder himself, the director of Man of Steel confirmed the "Snyder Cut" of Justice League will officially be released on HBO Max 2021. [more inside]
Are you hearing unusual levels of fireworks?
A Twitter thread about excessive amounts of fireworks being let off in urban areas all across the United States consistently overnight since the protests began -- with no police response when 911 is called. Is it "black and brown youth letting off steam with stolen high grade fireworks" or a concerted psyops campaign to destabilize troublesome populations?
A Story about a Father
The Silver Dish. This story written by Saul Bellow is not well-known but some consider it to be one of the best short stories of the last century. It is about a roguish father who derails the life of his son, and yet the two of them remain essential to each other all the way to the end. The story's prose and construction according to author Ethan Canin, "answers almost every question a young writer could have about fiction writing." Its humor and exuberance is a gift to the reader. [more inside]
"It's like giving CPR wei"
I walked in here six and a half days ago, I'm walking out
Kristin Enmark was the first person to be diagnosed with Stockholm Syndrome. The story of the bank robbery that originated this diagnosis is familiar to so many of us, filtered through the views of the police who responded to the incident.
Less familiar, is the very different story of twenty three year old Enmark herself.
Declining Governmental Effectiveness
"The UK, Spain, Belgium, and Italy are not only the countries with the biggest incidence of excess deaths in 2020, they are also those that have witnessed the biggest relative decline in government effectiveness, as measured by the World Bank, over the last 20 years."
I had a little bird, it's name was Enza...
American Experience: Influenza 1918 is a 1998 PBS documentary on the pandemic often referred to as the Spanish Flu. It provides an interesting historical perspective on our current situation. [more inside]
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