~metafilter | Bookmarks (952)

I never fully understood how an Enigma Machine works until I watched this. I think it could be appreciated just for the skill of its 3D animation, even if you're not interested in World War II cryptography. [NOTE: The link begins the video in the middle after less interesting introductory material. This is intentional.]

But as the pastor pointed out, Jesus came down to us through broken families: "one generation begetting brokenness of another generation begetting brokenness of another generation begetting brokenness of another generation." There were murderers, adulterers, prostitutes and people who committed incest, liars, schemers and idolaters. Jesus may have been sinless, but those in his lineage were not. Just as remarkable is that the Gospel...

After nearly twenty years contending with pastel trickster gods [previously], limited-animation cryptids [previously], absurdist undersea novelty songs, assorted devious traps, and most recently a 40-minute magnum opus featuring a nonbinary pangolin anthropologist, tutelary weasels, a lovelorn starfish, and a world-ending cube [previously], Charlie the Unicorn finally enjoys a moment of peace.(Pure speculation, but the last video's references to simple animation, magical orbs, and crossing...

Light One Candle - Peter, Paul & Mary | Hanukkah Blessings - Barenaked Ladies | Miracle - Matisyahu

Empire Wreckers has a brisk 2-hour video A Short Introduction to the First 40 Years of Transformers. Includes toys! Movies! Comics! Ball joints! Sexism! Copyright law! Product cycles! Third party figures!

Covey's Christmas Owl. Weir's Christmas Eve. Hunt's Approach to Christmas. Low's Christmas Morn. Kerrigan's Still Life (Christmas Ornaments). Lauren Ford's Christmas Book. Van Gogh's At Eternity's Gate. Moses' Christmas at Home. Newman's Spirit of Christmas.

What have we learned about and done with the solar system at the end of 2024? Let's check in on humanity's exploration of space at the end of 2024. Call this a Christmas present for space fiends.The Sun A major solar flare burst out and impacted radios across Europe and Africa. Bigger flares bust out from suns like ours about once per century, according...

In an Ian McEwan story nothing is quite as it seems, and many of the characters have a perfectly amoral willingness to break society's rules. That is the case here. The Cement Garden is not a pleasant film, nor is there any reassurance at the end – no promise that all will eventually be well. It's more of a seduction, like the events of...

Several ancient epics would be a lot shorter if all it took to reconcile the feuding brothers was a reminder of their shared lineage. Unfortunately, our origin stories don't tell us how to resolve any particular ethical dispute. The essence of such disputes, as with the fratricidal wars of the ancients, is that they are between factions who share the same psychology, the same...

NUTMEG: The Horrible History Behind The Popular Spice is a great documentary about a holiday staple. Travel along with Jared Rydelek to the long-secret origin of Myristica fragrans, with many stops along the way. Touching on colonialism, displacement, cultural preservation, culinary innovation, medical history, and much more, this nearly two hour long video will inevitably show you something you didn't know about before, and...

During the Cold War, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup was one of the commanders in charge of an early warning radar system based in Colorado. It had been set up to detect a possible soviet missile attack on the United States. In this animated conversation from our colleagues at StoryCorps, three of Shoup's children recall a surprising phone call their dad received back in...

War Book is nothing but people talking. And it is riveting. It is terrifying. - MaryAnn Johnson*You can watch it here.

What ACTUALLY Happened to the Rudolph Puppets? - The Bizarre History Behind the Animagic Swamp Jawn is a favorite on Fanfare for his entertainingly insightful breakdowns of animated shows (especially his episode-by-episode look at Delicious in Dungeon.)

Southern right whales can live up to 150 years, but others aren't so lucky. At opposite ends of the planet, a tale of two whale species has emerged — giving researchers hope and concern in equal measure.

On December 10th 1624, the population around Utrecht faced a crisis: rebuild the dike along the Lek river, or forever return the city and countryside to the bog it was before. The choice was obvious but the method of paying such expenses was not. While Lekdijk Bovendams (a water board, itself chartered 1323) had levy powers, it did not have cash on hand for...

The Gaetz ethics report is out. According to a 42-page report by the House Ethics Committee, the former congressman and Trump's former pick for attorney general regularly paid for sex, possessed illegal drugs, violated the house gift rule, dispensed privileges to a sexual partner, obstructed the investigation, and violated Florida state laws by committing statutory rape of a 17-year-old.You can read the full report.

In this new Era of Good Feelings—to borrow a phrase from early-19th-century American history—skeptics have become believers, and a digital-economic instrument that was designed to circumvent, if not replace, the traditional financial system is becoming more and more integrated into it. from The Hysterical Crypto Bubble Somehow Became Respectable [The Atlantic; ungated]

Eight Months Inside New York's Migrant Shelters: Fear, Joy and Hope. (SLNYT - photoessay) "...many inside the shelters are filled with gratitude for a city that has given them shelter, a bedside table, a bare cot. And they are determined to get out, to become self-sufficient and to contribute to the country they escaped to. What comes next, for them and the city, is...

A surprisingly emotional, soulful and wholesome journalistic profile of the then-17-year-old kid whose photo captioned "I had to do it to em" became one of the weirdest viral memes ever. Ten years later, in his first interview ever, Lachborne "Lucky" Bachkhaz returns to the Florida sidewalk where it all started (and where fans still show up, neighbors said), creating a bittersweet and nostalgic moment....

Please enjoy the soothing precision of the Top 100 Woodworking Tools Hacks from Yasuhiro TV.Pleasantly, you can download plans in metric or imperial for all of them in the comments below the video.

Edward Dahlberg — for I've finally begun to read him — was a genius, sure. Having penetrated the haze of remorse around his career, I've joined the tinny chorus: Because I Was Flesh, his memoir of Kansas City childhood and orphanhood, but most of all a portrait of his disreputable, unbearable, and resolutely life-embracing mother, is a great book. Great in the saddest and...

Chinese feminist comedy "Her Story" is on course for US, international release. It's a smash hit in China, drawing comparisons to Barbie, but some men are not amused. Trailer (with English subtitles).