MetaFilter

Dr. David suzuki, noted Canadian scientist, educator, and climate activist, has called the fight.
posted by fairmettle to MetaFilter on Jul 5 at 12:00 AM
34 users marked this as a favorite

The Greensleeves Project "is an interdisciplinary collaboration between a team of established historians and practitioners to look at one of the most famous English historical songs, the Elizabethan ballad of Greensleeves... The earliest surviving text of Greensleeves dates from 1584. It’s a long song, with 18 verses, written in a somewhat stalker-like fashion, by a man who showers his would-be beloved with gifts, including a lot of clothes. Put together, these gifts provide us with a rich resource of information on clothing, fabrics, embroidery, and other aspects of material culture."
posted by sardonyx to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 8:31 PM
33 users marked this as a favorite

A few interesting ways to use the encrypted messaging app signal. "Using signal groups for activism" by Micah Lee (16 Jun 2025): how to "turn an in-person meeting into a signal group using QR codes", "manage large semi-public groups while still vetting new members", and "make announcement-only groups" ideal for rapid-response volunteer networks. "A signal messenger API on your tailnet with Docker Compose" by Parker Higgins (23 April 2025): a setup for sending signal messages using the command line, following up his "Messaging signal groups based on Puzzmo webhooks (using Tailscale Funnel)". (Disclaimer: Parker's a friend.)
posted by brainwane to MetaFilter on Jul 4 at 4:20 PM
31 users marked this as a favorite

A remarkable report from UN special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese on how an economy of occupation in Gaza has shifted to an (immensely profitable) economy of genocide.
posted by rabia.elizabeth to MetaFilter on Jul 5 at 8:39 AM
30 users marked this as a favorite

As any new homeowner will know, there are always unknown things to be found in a new place. From a kitchen cupboard that never seems to close properly, a curiously painted over area or the real performance of an air-conditioning unit, discoveries abound. But after Daniel Xu and his wife finalised the purchase of their house in Melbourne's northern suburbs, he found what can only be described as a train enthusiast's dream beneath their feet. from 'I was shocked': Melbourne man's 'unbelievable' find after buying house
posted by chavenet to MetaFilter on Jul 2 at 11:35 AM
27 users marked this as a favorite

The article introduces the concept of “semantic pareidolia” - our tendency to attribute consciousness, intelligence, and emotions to AI systems that lack these qualities. It examines how this psychological phenomenon leads us to perceive meaning and intentionality in statistical pattern-matching systems, similar to seeing faces in clouds. from AI and semantic Pareidolia: When We see Consciousness Where There Is None by Luciano Floridi [ssRN]
posted by chavenet to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 12:38 PM
27 users marked this as a favorite

Five hundred eighty six current and former employees of the EPA have posted a signed declaration on the stand up for science website shining a light on the pattern of lies and potential violations of the Hatch Act of EPA Director Lee Zeldin.
posted by Ignorantsavage to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 10:11 PM
27 users marked this as a favorite

Today's death toll in Gaza. Israeli settlers shoot, injure 3 people in West Bank. Note: Al-Jazeera is reporting from Amman, Jordan, since they've been banned in Israel and the West Bank. since May 27, at least 583 Palestinians have been killed and 4,186 injured at food distribution sites. Haaretz has published an expose confirming that IDF soldiers have been ordered to deliberately shoot at unarmed Gazans waiting for humanitarian aid. ungated. Trump has threatened on Truth.social to withhold funding for Israel for prosecuting Netanyahu on corruption charges. Hamas is also battling to survive, facing "defiant" clans and doubts over Iran.
posted by toastyk to MetaFilter on Jun 29 at 10:09 AM
26 users marked this as a favorite

Miniature cats fighting the American Civil War. Located in Gettysburg, PA, Civil War Tails at the Homestead is a unique presentation of key battles from the American Civil War (1861-65) using dioramas filled with thousands of inch-high uniformed clay cats. Built and operated by two sisters. Go expecting kitsch, and you will be disappointed to learn that they are extraordinarily learned scholars of the war who have turned a hobby into a livelihood (for one sister; the other practices law in her spare time). I have visited twice and plan to return! (And, yes, you can by souvenir cat soldiers; we own two.)
posted by JimInsYR to MetaFilter on Jun 29 at 1:17 PM
26 users marked this as a favorite

Bruce Gaston, ed., (2024), saki (H.H. Munro): Original and Uncollected stories: "This book reprints--for the first time in over a hundred years--thirteen stories originally published in newspapers and magazines ... Three ... have so far been missed by anthologists." The title character of "Mrs. Pendercoet's Lost Identity: A Tragedy of the Chelsea Arts Club Ball" (alt. edition) would not yet have had access to Dennison's Party Magazine but could have consulted Ardern Holt's Fancy Dresses Described, perhaps referring Rollo to Gentleman's Fancy Dress. "The Optimist" (alt. edition) was published only about two months after "The Open Window," a more famous story with multiple adaptations and a notable analysis. And "The Romance of Business" has context that the editor explains in "saki and Mr selfridge." Previous unanthologized stories by saki.
posted by Wobbuffet to MetaFilter on Jun 28 at 9:52 PM
26 users marked this as a favorite

sound designer and podcaster Dallas Taylor has started a YouTube channel that promises to explore "how iconic audio is made and the people behind it". First up, Inside the sound of Jeopardy! and Behind the Boom Mic at sNL.
posted by redct to MetaFilter on Jun 30 at 11:26 AM
24 users marked this as a favorite

“We are witnessing a true reversal of ocean circulation in the southern Hemisphere—something we’ve never seen before” explains Antonio Turiel of ICM-CsIC. “While the world is debating the potential collapse of the AMOC in the North Atlantic, we’re seeing that the sMOC is not just weakening, but has reversed. This could will have unprecedented global climate impacts.” (PNAs)
posted by jeffburdges to MetaFilter on Jul 4 at 9:23 AM
23 users marked this as a favorite

Democratic institutions in the Us are being dismantled at a frightening pace, masked thugs pull people off the street without identification, warrants or due process. Our government is building concentration camps in the swamps of Florida. That sickness in the pit of your stomach might be political grief for all we have lost as a society.
posted by chromecow to MetaFilter on Jul 3 at 11:40 PM
23 users marked this as a favorite

sorry for the late post, but Frank Zappa's Cheaper Than Cheep a live TV special from 1974 that never aired due to audio sync issues is streaming on youtube this weekend for free.
posted by Catblack to MetaFilter on Jun 29 at 7:56 AM
22 users marked this as a favorite

Whenever Doug Biggert (1941-2023) picked up a hitch-hiker in Northern California he took their picture: Riding With strangers: California Hitchhikers in the 1970s
posted by chavenet to MetaFilter on Jun 29 at 12:38 PM
22 users marked this as a favorite

House Republicans pass Trump's megabill, sending the package to his desk to be signed
posted by girlmightlive to MetaFilter on Jul 3 at 1:10 PM
21 users marked this as a favorite

Via Paul Krugman: We're all rats now. A roundup of recent racist moves from the Trump administration.
posted by subdee to MetaFilter on Jun 30 at 8:18 AM
21 users marked this as a favorite

In 2009, the artist Raqib shaw began work on a painting that depicts, in allegory form, the violence in his native Kashmir. sixteen years and one hundred linear feet later, he finished Paradise Lost.
posted by adamrice to MetaFilter on Jul 2 at 11:03 AM
21 users marked this as a favorite

slate Auto is an American startup company that is developing electric vehicles, scheduled for release to the market in late 2026. Nothing startling there. What is unusual about their offering is, in large part, the price point - with government rebates the base vehicle starts at UsD20k (those rebates have to be at risk, of course because *waves around*). The base vehicle, dubbed the 'Blank slate' is an all-electric rear-wheel-drive two-door utility with two seats and a 120 mile (193 km) range. Youtube channel Rich Rebuilds take a close look at the vehicle here (42:57 YouTube video).
posted by dg to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 5:57 PM
20 users marked this as a favorite

Irreconcilable differences? Ryan D. Griffiths, Professor of Political science at syracuse University, has a new book coming out this september: “The Disunited states: Threats of secession in Red and Blue America and Why They Won't Work.”
posted by zooropa to MetaFilter on Jun 30 at 1:37 PM
19 users marked this as a favorite

[more posts]

Back in the day, soon after Jimmy swaggart got caught and apologized, I got a new computer, a Mac LC II, for college. My family are fundamentalists, and their preacher at the time happened to be a big Mac head. so he came over to the house to help me set up my new computer. One of the things he did was install a bunch of new sounds in the system... [more]
posted by vibrotronica to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 10:42 AM
72 users marked this as a favorite

Oh boy I hope he's reincarnated in someone from Chicago, can you imagine the memes [view]
posted by phunniemee to MetaFilter on Jul 2 at 10:28 AM
54 users marked this as a favorite

If the answer isn't "Everything," I'll eat my digital hat that I bought as a $3.99 microtransaction. Retired game designer, worked at EA for a hot minute, (though on a very atypical project). spent my time in the free-to-play trenches. Many of my friends have worked at EA, and I worked with and under survivors of the EA spouse... [more]
posted by chromecow to MetaFilter on Jul 2 at 10:08 PM
54 users marked this as a favorite

As someone who was born and raised Malaysian, but as the "wrong" kind of Muslim (Bangladeshi) and also queer and neurodivergent and artsy: this article is spot on and doesn't have Muslim-bashing. some of the respondents in that article are themselves Muslim! some of the targets of repression and censorship are Muslim! But if you don't... [more]
posted by creatrixtiara to MetaFilter on Jun 28 at 11:30 PM
49 users marked this as a favorite

As my grandmother would say, "He died years ago, he just forgot to lie down." [view]
posted by Capt. Renault to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 9:19 AM
48 users marked this as a favorite

The polite, clean chicken shop that puts a blandly pleasant and cheery face on their christofascist homophobia has been sinister since long before the current political circumstance. [view]
posted by phunniemee to MetaFilter on Jun 29 at 7:07 AM
44 users marked this as a favorite

Yes, children. There was a time when a public figure who was merely caught hiring a prostitute would be subject to intense shame and humiliation. Wild, right? [view]
posted by heyitsgogi to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 9:15 AM
44 users marked this as a favorite

The thing is, all along we've tried to nurture some hope both for practical reasons and out of kindness when I would argue that it has always been clear that humans would not slow down or prevent disastrous climate change. This is because the people who have the actual power (the very rich and important politicians) are not accountable to... [more]
posted by Frowner to MetaFilter on Jul 5 at 4:02 AM
43 users marked this as a favorite

oh my god baby you’re in a hospital eat all the chik-fil-a you want, i’m a queer cancer survivor, it’s fine but if you have access to a fridge you can get a multi pack of sammies and soups from panera if that would work! [view]
posted by sickos haha yes dot jpg to MetaFilter on Jun 29 at 9:25 AM
41 users marked this as a favorite

I appreciate this person's expertise and wisdom, but you have to be very careful when somebody at the end of their own life says it's over for everybody. Their narrative is quite complicated at that point. [view]
posted by grog to MetaFilter on Jul 5 at 4:25 AM
37 users marked this as a favorite

Oh, for fuck's sake. The board authorized $150MM in stock buybacks and a increased the dividend 20% five months before declaring Chapter 11? They should probably be in prison, but that's for little, poor people. [view]
posted by Ickster to MetaFilter on Jul 2 at 7:57 PM
35 users marked this as a favorite

it's in our interest to say that a multi-billion parameter LLM isn't conscious because doing so eliminates the moral hazard of intellectual slavery. It's in our interest to say that a multi-billion parameter LLM isn't conscious because it literally isn't and believing that it is leads to misunderstanding what it does. OpenAI and... [more]
posted by Pope Guilty to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 2:06 PM
35 users marked this as a favorite

Hahaha these are southern White Pilates Ladies. Popeyes is MUCH better, but Popeyes is for [whispers] those people. "We don't feel it's up to our hygeine standards". I should note that my kids' school is roughly 50% black, and the swim team about 40%. I was chatting with my daughter's mom, who's black, about just this, and... [more]
posted by outgrown_hobnail to MetaFilter on Jun 29 at 7:48 AM
34 users marked this as a favorite

Given that this is Australia, has anyone checked if the model train layout is venomous? [view]
posted by RonButNotstupid to MetaFilter on Jul 2 at 12:15 PM
33 users marked this as a favorite

This is so backward! The interesting point isn't, companies are making things that seem like people to fool us, but rather that we have evolved the mental ability to assume minds when we aren't sure they're there. That ability is at our core as social beings--including domesticating other animals, or writing fables in which... [more]
posted by mittens to MetaFilter on Jul 1 at 1:03 PM
33 users marked this as a favorite

Ah yes the classic "Capital Allocation strategy"! This would be a lot less annoying if it weren't very clear that a bunch of vulture capitalists are getting a big chunk richer by destroying yet another long-running and ostensibly successful business. You might think that capitalists destroying capitalists would be a good thing, but... [more]
posted by saltysalticid to MetaFilter on Jul 2 at 7:39 PM
33 users marked this as a favorite

Important correction to the post title: Celiac disease is not an allergy. If the mods and/or chariot pulled by cassowaries are willing, I think the title of the post should be changed to "Life-changing test for Celiac disease developed." Wheat allergies exist and are not uncommon, and can cause life-threatening anaphylaxis, just like a... [more]
posted by OnceUponATime to MetaFilter on Jul 3 at 7:23 AM
32 users marked this as a favorite

'Gaza must be eliminated': Israel’s airwaves are filled with pro-genocide propaganda I'm not sure if this has been shared here. This is not news, but Mahdawi has collected some of it together to paint a terrifying picture of a society where one can argue that an entire population, including children, should be exterminated because they are... [more]
posted by Kutsuwamushi to MetaFilter on Jun 29 at 11:23 AM
32 users marked this as a favorite

suzuki is a smart man. But he is also at the end of his life and will not see the consequences continue to get worse. But the only way I can get up in the morning and keep working as an educator and researcher in the field is by continuing to think in terms of Not Too Late and All We Can save. [view]
posted by hydropsyche to MetaFilter on Jul 5 at 4:28 AM
32 users marked this as a favorite

“We know that they are lying, they know that they are lying, they even know that we know they are lying, we also know that they know we know they are lying too, they of course know that we certainly know they know we know they are lying too as well, but they are still lying. In our country, the lie has become not just moral category, but the pillar... [more]
posted by robbyrobs to MetaFilter on Jun 28 at 2:09 PM
32 users marked this as a favorite

[more comments]