~metafilter | Bookmarks (952)

If you only have time for one more video of a duck swimming in white water rapids, might I suggest Torrent Duck? via

"From the excitement of the Nacelleverse (see: RoboForce's Detonator above) to Hatsune Miku, Mötley Crüe, Voltron, and Stumble Guys, there is something for every kid and collector to love" Though not generally (ahem) an action figure collector at this point in life, I think it's fun to see all the boutique, unusual, retro, and non-franchise figures that online retail makes possible these days.

Biden commutes most federal death sentences (WaPo), ahead of Trump's plan to resume federal executions (NYT) (WH statement, fact sheet)Biden did not commute the sentences of three men who were involved in cases of terrorism or hate-fueled mass murder, including Robert Bowers, convicted for the 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue; Dylann Roof, convicted for the 2015 mass shooting at a Black church...

Dark romance explores the murky areas of love and desire, often characterised by fraught power dynamics and implicit or explicit violence between protagonists. Yet, these stories typically have a positive, albeit complicated, conclusion. from Reading dark romance: The ambiguities of a fascinating genre [The Conversation]

The penultimate #FreeThread of 2024. Following last week's breakfast post by DirtyOldTown, what are you having for dinner on Christmas Day or what is your regular or go-to dinner? Lamb? Crispy turkey? Soup? A home-made curry? A Chreaster (combined Christmas and Easter) egg? Chocolate? A turkey-sized IKEA meatball? Something from the air fryer? Pizza? A bargain with a yellow sticker? Perhaps a scone or...

In this village of tiny homes, young people find their independence. A once-empty suburban lot in Adelaide has been transformed into a village of tiny homes to support young people transitioning out of the child and family protection system.

He didn't tell people how to pronounce his surname, so he could study how people said it. I'm having trouble putting words together here, because Labov was one of my science heroes, so here are some cool things he did: Studied how social class affects pronunciation by going into a bunch of department stores in New York and observing how the staff said "fourth...

A short twenty years after GIMP 2, there is now GIMP 3."A Brief (and Ancient) History of GIMP" Historical GIMP logos

Squirrels Are Displaying 'Widespread Carnivorous Behavior' for the First Time in a California Park. The familiar rodents, known for eating nuts and seeds, have been spotted hunting, killing and consuming voles. Scientists say it might signal resiliency in face of future environmental pressures"This was shocking," study lead author Jennifer E. Smith, a professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, says in a...

The place held by Action Comics #1 in comic book history is undeniable. And yet, its deep legacy goes even beyond comic books and superheroes. Action Comics #1 is also one of the greatest works of progressive, anti-fascist art ever made. [CBR]Superman, earlier this week

In 1989 Sony announced the biggest CRT TV ever sold, the 200 kg, 45 inch KX-45ED1. Only two non-promotional photos of it exist and there are no known examples. Until now.

In an unprecedented move (ProPublica), Ohio is funding the expansion of private, religious schools (WOSU). Nonprofit announces investigation (Columbus Dispatch).

Great Philosophers on Santa's Naughty and Nice Lists by Amanda Lehr. slMcSweeney'sDiogenes: Pluck the fattest chicken you can find, paint it red, glue cotton balls to its chin, and say, "Behold: Santa!" Thomas Hobbes: In the absence of the Elf on the Shelf, children are by nature naughty, brutish, and short. Friedrich Nietzsche: Whoever battles Naughtiness should see to it that in the process...

"How Whisky Is Made" is a charming 3D animation that helped me understand the process better than any written description had.

TIL there's a Japanese brand of tampon named for Anne Frank. The reason why is actually not as strange as you might think.

This was dissociative, diminutive work, and time passed vertiginously, minutes and seconds overlapping on my teammates' unsynchronized doomsday clocks until the day concluded with a final collective effort at preservation. All quality assurance analysts—not Cindy, for hierarchical reasons—would convene in the photocopy room to ensure that, come what may on December 31, 1999, the deliverables from our day's labor would be archived, in print,...

Inside the creation of a First Nations superhero universe. Gooniyandi man Scott Wilson grew up superhero-obsessed, but he never saw his own culture in the comic books he'd get lost in. So he decided to create his own.

Walking Around In Locations with Philomena Cunk returns to explain the meaning of life. Somehow, this will all make sense.I'm looking forward to her tripping on a stone, in Philomena fashion.

The story of Team Fortress 2 (as told through its comics) has been concluded in a really long comic titled "The Days Have Worn Away." You can read it online, or download the (3/4 of a gigabyte!) CBR.

Welcome to the human doom loop "Throughout the pandemic, the media focused on the idea of the "urban doom loop," in which remote work would kill downtowns, triggering a downward spiral of reduced services that would cause people to leave cities. What went overlooked has turned out to be the bigger and even more consequential story: the human doom loop, a cycle in which...

Classical KING FM 98.1 (playlist)Classical KING FM is presently playing Christmas music in their own eclectic way. Earlier it was vocal choirs in intricate murmurations, now it's punched up. It plays what John Fahey famously once called Western High Art. But the palette of their programing has broadened to emphasize women and composers and performers of color. It broadcasts this reach of music 24...

Today, Keith Richards turns 81. It's a hopeless cliche to talk about all the stuff that Richards has survived, so I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to say that Keith Richards is now 81 years old. He is one year younger than Joe Biden and three years older than Donald Trump. To celebrate Richards' big day, Susanna Hoffs and Elvis Costello...

Southern sea otters are an unexpected solution to invasive European Green Crabs that have been ravishing eco systems on the west coast of North America.

Commuting to work by bicycle in the winter can be a challenge - especially in the (arguably) coldest city in Canada. But that doesn't stop Daniel Perry, professional double bassist in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.Please note that I do not bike to work in the winter, although I'm finding this inspiring, and it is just fine not to.