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Her Story
Her Story is a 6-episode new-media series that looks inside the dating lives of trans & queer women as they navigate the intersections of desire & identity.The show is co-written, co-produced, and co-starred by writer and One Billion Rising organizer Laura Zak and founder of The Trans 100 and We Happy Trans Jen Richards, and also stars Angelica Ross, founder of Trans Tech Social Enterprises. (CW: One of the side characters is hella transphobic, and there's smatterings of casual transphobia.)
Overwhelming laundry and when to wash
How many times can/should/do you wear your clothes before you wash them?
I want to buy the car I've been leasing...
... but don't have a ton of experience arm-wrestling dealers. Know any negotiating tactics? Tricks to watch out for?
Bryn Kelly
Bryn Kelly, writer, performance artist, voice behind The Hussy, activist in the transgender and PLW HIV/AIDS communities, hairstylist and Lambda Literary fellow, died on Wednesday.
Post-car culture: broader implications to a driverless society
How driverless cars will change cities: a 9 minute video from CBC News' The National, covering Morgan Stanley's 2014 prediction for the end of car culture as we have known it (PDF) due to the convergence of driverless cars and "sharing culture" technology like Uber (who will be testing their system soon), and idea that people would be less inclined to own their own driverless vehicle, gien that personally owned passenger vehicles are parked 95% of the time, all of which will mean potentially significant changes in how urban spaces are planned and designed.
Splain it to Me
MetaFilter is long familiar with the dichotomy between Ask Culture and Guess Culture. Alice Maz, a programmer writing for the new group blog Status 451, has described another common dichotomy between “harmonious emotional experience” and “information sharing”, and what happens when the two meet. (In short: “Harsh words may be exchanged, and everyone exits the encounter thinking the other person was monumentally rude for no reason.”)
It is a wonderful day in the neighborhood: Minneapolis St Paul
Planning to move to Minneapolis St Paul and would rather pick the best neighborhoods to look into from afar (snowflakes inside) and would also like to figure out the transportation system so that I still be car free if possible.
Where do experts go to learn more about statistics (in social science)?
If you do quantitative research for a living, where do you go when you have questions, or want to learn more about how to analyze data?
UBI in NYT
It's Payback Time for Women
- "Society is getting a free ride on our unrewarded contributions to the perpetuation of the human race." (via)
Daily Rules to Function By
I'm writing this question because I have not put a set of sheets on my bed for about a year. I have clean sheets. I wash my comforter and pillows regularly. I just need a rule for actually putting the sheets on my bed! Here on MeFi there was a rule that helped me so immensely in terms of cooking and cleanup that I now actually cook and keep my kitchen clean ("Rule: Cooking is not finished until the cleanup is finished"). Can I get some rules for putting sheets on my bed, or life in general?
If I didn't need food to live, I probably wouldn't eat
I do not like to cook or prepare food. It's a character flaw, I realize, but for whatever reason I don't like to spend time on food. This leads to me eating out a lot, just because it's simple. I'm looking for foods that are healthy, filling, but also have the lowest prep time possible. Non-perishables would be a plus. I'm also fairly active, so high energy foods would be good as well. Am I asking too much, or are there foods that fit the bill?
It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy
The Sudden But Well-Deserved Fall of Rahm Emanuel.
By Rick Perlstein, New Yorker. Puts the rising number of calls for Emanuel to resign as mayor of Chicago in context.
What Goes Through Your Mind: On Nice Parties and Casual Racism
"All these thoughts steamroll through my mind in the span of a few seconds, calculations firing while my cheeks burn and I stare at my plate. For the last time, I consider defending myself. Just giving voice to the confusion and anger and mortification I feel boiling in the pit of my stomach. But I know, in an instant that reminds me of countless others like it, that I’m not that person. The truth sinks in: I am the only one who can make sure that everybody keeps having a good time." Nicole Chung on what it's like when your holiday dinner is ruined by racism.
But is there a Costco nearby?
"Also, by dramatising the wildness of the outside, it fetishises the cosiness of indoors." Cabin porn: why hideaways are hot right now (Jess Cartner-Morley, The Guardian)
Memory, Law, and Recording
Sci-Fi Author (and Metafilter's own) Charlie Stross has an interesting thought experiment: Could you get to a technological society without the use of writing? And if so, what would that look like?
I’m in control of my actions basically all of the time
Two years ago today I last got shithoused. It was the closing night of the Lincoln Lodge, a fantastic comedy venue in Chicago in the back of a now-closed diner. They’ve since moved, but after that show, I thought I should take a breather from drinking... I’ve learned a lot in two years, so I thought I’d share that with you, in case you’d like to take a break from the booze cruise.Andy Boyle writes about lessons learned from two years without alcohol.
What to do during a personal retreat?
I have the opportunity to take a few days alone in a wifi-free cabin in upstate NY. I'd like some help some help thinking of what to do to help me recharge.
How to be (very, temporarily) alone
I'd like to go somewhere and spend a while (a few days to a few weeks) without seeing or interacting with another person. How, logistically, would I do this? Difficultly level: no car.
“I have been told in interviews that they want somebody younger,”
Over 50, Female and Jobless by Paticia Cohen [The New York Times]
A new study found that the employment prospects for women over 50 darkened after the Great Recession, as many now earn far less and use many fewer skills than they did before.
I want to make maps or solve mapping problems – what career is this?
I love knowing and finding where places are. Where is the capital city of Tajikistan? Where do the most car accidents in Miami occur? Where is there the most pollution in Rio de Janeiro? Where are there untapped oil reserves? Where are the largest ergs? Where is an earthquake most likely to occur? What I have wanted to do for a long time is either make maps or solve issues that require finding a location. What I don't know is how to get into a career doing this.
How Bad Are Things?
One “advantage” of working in psychiatry is getting a window into an otherwise invisible world of really miserable people.
Scott Alexander writes about mental health and well being in America.
"I work in a wealthy, mostly-white college town consistently ranked one of the best places to live in the country. If there’s anywhere that you might dare hope wasn’t filled to the brim with people living hopeless lives, it would be here. But that hope is not realized. Every day I get to listen to people describe problems that would seem overwrought if they were in a novel, and made-up if they were in a thinkpiece on The Fragmentation Of American Society."
All my kisses are sham kisses.
Maternal kisses are not effective in alleviating minor childhood injuries (boo-boos): a randomized, controlled and blinded study, by the Study of Maternal and Child Kissing (SMACK) Working Group.
Hearing Loss Simulator
Find out what hearing loss sounds like
: 'You can't recreate hearing loss simply by plugging your ears. A person with normal hearing can hear quiet, medium and loud sounds that vary from low pitch to high pitch with amazing clarity and definition.When you have hearing loss, you often lose higher pitched sounds, like the sound of women's and children's voices or consonants like T, S and F. Even though you still may be able to hear strong vowel sounds such as A, E and I, speech becomes harder to comprehend.'
Reality check on realty
American House Prices.
FIVE years after the house price crash that nearly took down an entire financial system, America’s property market appears to be in rude health: prices have appreciated by 17% over the past three years. But that statistic hides vast differences in housing markets across America The graphic gives valuation assessments for 25 major cities in the context of what has happened to prices over the past 35 years, and allows you to plot and compare them.
(It used to be) a game of links.
One year into his newly found freedom after 6 years incarceration in Tehran´s Evin prison; Mefi´s own Hossein Derakhshan gives his views on the internet and social media.
I Want To Believe
"I want to believe," a core sentiment of the show and its viewers, is a phrase that comes from an iconic item on the show: the UFO poster that hangs above the desk of FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder, everyone's favorite socially isolated, orally fixated, paranoid insomniac alien chaser. When The X-Files became a hit in the mid-'90s, this poster was found on the bedroom wall of every self-respecting X-Phile. It was a special link to the show and Mulder's hopeful yet tortured conviction that the truth was out there, shrouded in conspiracy, waiting to be uncovered.
Best single piece of home exercise equipment?
So, I'm looking to lose a little weight, get healthier and tone up. I'd also like to do it in the comfort of my own home. What's the one item of equipment most likely to achieve this? It has to be one only, I don't have space, money nor the inclination for an entire home gym. The plan is to set it up in the open living area of the home where I can squeeze some workout time in whilst I watch my two young kids. (For time and convenience reasons, I won't be joining a gym. Also, I hate gyms.) Ideally, I will be hiring the equipment initially. What are your thoughts?
It's The Reality Of Being A Woman In Our World
There's this thing that happens whenever I speak about or write about women's issues. Things like dress codes, rape culture and sexism. I get the comments: Aren't there more important things to worry about? Is this really that big of a deal? Aren't you being overly sensitive? Are you sure you're being rational about this? Every. Single. Time. And every single time I get frustrated. Why don't they get it? I think I've figured out why. They don't know. They don't know about de-escalation. Minimizing. Quietly acquiescing. [slhuffpo]
What are the best men's pajamas?
What are some high quality men's pajamas? Which are the most comfortable, luxurious, or stylish? Compatibility with a washing machine / dryer is a big plus.
Is this a kissing book?
Meta, Irony, Narrative, Frames, and The Princess Bride
- Jo Walton takes a look at William Goldman's (or if you will S. Morgenstern's) classic novel.
King William's College General Knowledge Quiz 2015-16
It's Christmas Eve, so what better to do than partake in the Metafilter holiday tradition (previously; previouslier) of attempting probably the hardest quiz in the world: The King William's College General Knowledge Paper (Guardian).
Snowball in Hell
The forecast low in Central Park today is expected to match its previous record high from Christmas Eve of 1996 of 63°F / 17°C. By the afternoon, temperatures should reach the low 70s (22°C), shattering the record by 10 degrees F.
Isa ibn-Maryam (Jesus, son of Mary)
Why more American Muslims are celebrating Christmas this year:
For many Muslims, Christmas activates all kinds of anxieties. A religious holiday that challenges the Muslim interpretation of Jesus, it’s also a secular celebration—almost impossible to avoid—which is far more influential than any Muslim celebration in the West. See also: 6 things you didn’t know about Jesus in Islam.
When we get closer to nature, we do our overstressed brains a favor.
“Imagine a therapy that had no known side effects, was readily available, and could improve your cognitive functioning at zero cost,” the researchers wrote in their paper. It exists, they continued, and it’s called “interacting with nature.”
Standing at Armageddon and Battling for the Lord
They aren’t necessarily superconservative. They often don’t think in ideological terms at all. But they do strongly feel that life in this country used to be better for people like them—and they want that older country back. The Great Republican Revolt: from the pages of The Atlantic, David Frum explains how current state of the Republican Party, explains the different factions and movements within the GOP, and lays out four possible options for the future.
The Destruction of Workers' Compensation in the US
Over the past 25 years, the giant meatpacking company Tyson Foods has taken a lead in pushing for changes in workers’ comp in state after state—often to the detriment of workers. ... Tyson’s story also tells a broader one about American politics: How time after time, one determined company, facing a challenge to its profits, can bend government and the law to its will. Over the past year, ProPublica and NPR have examined how many states have been quietly dismantling their workers’ comp systems.
The end of online comments?
Say goodbye to online comments as you know them
We have finally realized that the kind of person who devotes his day to arguing with strangers anonymously on the Internet is not necessarily representative of a large swath of public opinion or necessarily good at articulating anything.
Turn Off, Tune Out, Get Bored.
In Praise of Boredom by the creative Adrian Shaughnessy, a graphic designer and writer based in London, is a thought-provoking look at the link between creativity, reflection, and boredom. Shaughnessy is a senior tutor in Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art and a founding partner in Unit Editions a publishing company producing books on design and visual culture.
Erotic Bondage
I have a few questions about a form of erotic bondage. Clearly NSFW after the fold.
Which cities in Europe are most welcoming to gay Europeans?
I have tried London and failed. The gay part was OK, but being a foreigner was not. I'm now looking for a new European city to call home. Tell me where people care less that you're a (gay) foreigner.
How to get pictures of myself to use online
I'd like to hire a photographer to take some casual pictures of me to use online, and I have some questions about that.
Making a Murderer
Netflix's first true-crime series is a 10-part documentary series called Making a Murderer. It follows the life and trials of a man named Steven Avery who, in 1985, was wrongfully convicted for a crime he did not commit. After serving 18 years in prison, he was exonerated by DNA evidence. Two years after his release, and in the midst of a $36 million settlement with local law enforcement, Steven was arrested for another, even more heinous crime.
The series is being compared to other serialized true-crime nonfiction like Serial, the Jinx, and the Staircase. You may also remember Avery's story from an episode of Radiolab.
The dark truth behind the convictions for 'gender fraud'
It's not about justice, it's about witch hunts, argues Alex Sharpe
"Today, a young transgender man, Kyran Lee, received a two year suspended sentence after being convicted in 2014 of one count of sexual assault by penetration on the basis of “gender fraud.” He is the fifth young LGBT person to be prosecuted for and convicted of so-called “gender fraud” in the UK since 2012. The reason for this recent spate of criminal prosecutions of LGBT youth is unclear and calls for rigorous analysis in its own right. What is clear, is that while these prosecutions have some support, they do not accord with general community sentiment concerning the meaning of consent and the proper reach of criminal law."
Feeling ambivalent about my relationship, but I don't know how to say so
In recent weeks I've started to notice that I've become ambivalent about my relationship with my GF. Recently she was away for a weekend and I realised that I didn't miss her all that much. I think that I need to talk to her about this but I don't know how to do it fairly and kindly.
Stop Idolizing Penny Pinchers
A Slate piece discusses the problem with our society lionizing individuals who engage in extreme forms of thrift, and how it obscures the actual financial issues people face. (SLSlate)