MetaFilter

My favorite of the 3 you highlighted was Geolaŋ - thanks for posting this!

I am finding it hard to discover the list of current Circus videos. Could someone help me figure out how to get there?
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 2:16 PM on September 30, 2023

One interesting wrinkle, for me, is that this was Newark Airport specifically.

About a decade ago, when I was using Newark Airport somewhat regularly, I remember seeing a pledge posted on the wall stating that prices for food sold in the airport would be comparable to prices for similar food sold at restaurants in neighboring cities outside the airport. I think that pledge disappeared sometime in the last 3-5 years, because I seem to recall that the last time I flew… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:48 AM on September 24, 2023

I'm interested in trying this out. Is the first episode pretty good on its own, or does the show take a bit of a while to find its groove?
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 12:18 PM on September 21, 2023

I realized that another piece of fiction that strikes a similar vein, for me, is Peter Watts's bonus material for his scifi novel Blindsight: the in-universe presentation "Vampire Domestication: Taming Yesterday's Nightmares for a Better Tomorrow" (previously on MetaFilter).
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 9:39 AM on September 8, 2023

I posted this not knowing the specific post it was so closely satirizing and appreciate the heads-up, mhum!
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 1:49 PM on September 8, 2023

There is a kind of Poe's Law-type pattern that happened today, in that I fully thought a bunch of the lines in the parody version were elegant skewerings of the kind of things Silicon Valley folks (including me) might be prone to say, and then I learned that they WERE IN THE ORIGINAL. Like

My take on what’s happened since then is full of lived nuance.

When people ask why I stayed it’s easy to answer: optimism, curiosity, personal growth and… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 6:32 PM on September 8, 2023

I do recommend "Rät" and "Divine Comedy of the Tech Sisterhood" and Ellen Ullman's novel The Bug as explorations of the distorted psychological dynamics that emerge as one participates in the tech industry.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:30 AM on September 9, 2023

Another Torment Nexus riff: In a different thread, Artw mentioned Chris Gioran's jest from July 21st of this year: "Here's the detailed technical plans for a working Torment Nexus." [after opposition to the core idea] "Why won't people focus on the technical merits of the proposal." Yeahhhhhh.

Gioran used the phrase "techbros" to castigate the speaker in this scenario, which I don't want to co-sign. The tweet Jim Ray was satirizing was by… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 11:40 AM on September 10, 2023

I am so glad I read this today. Thank you.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:11 AM on September 2, 2023

sciatrix: No, I'm curious now but had not yet run into this! I did a quick search. Are you referring to the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) subtype or maybe another meaning?
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 7:45 PM on August 7, 2023

sciatrix, my condolences on the positive test, and I hope you were able to avoid catching COVID from your spouse, and I hope you are able to come to NYC at some point soon and I can buy you an outdoor beverage!

Thank you for the rundown. Ever since you posted it, I've been on the lookout for places in my life where scrupulosity would be one good way to understand a particular choice or dynamic.

I read the comic book version of the… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 11:36 AM on August 25, 2023

Also: Why are the questions always framed in a future tense: "would you recommend Target crew socks to your family and friends?"

Yes? No? I don't know. Can't I just tell you about today's visit?
posted by JoeZydeco

I actually know the answer to this one! The measurement this question is trying to gather is Net Promoter Score, which, according to English Wikipedia, owes its origin to a… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:54 AM on August 25, 2023

I tuned in to the livestream and tears ran down my face. God it's wonderful to get to virtually be with a bunch of nerds in Bangalore who are so utterly happy that they've been able to do an amazing thing.

While watching and waiting, I reread Iona Datt Sharma's lovely short scifi story "Heard, Half-Heard, in the Stillness" on India's space program. (Audio version also available.) (Previously on MeFi.) Aspiring astronaut Ekta celebrates Diwali while hoping her… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 9:08 AM on August 23, 2023

The Fediverse posts on the #Chandrayaan3 hashtag have been so lovely to watch. Congratulations in many languages. Relevant Indian art from circa 1700: a Rajput miniature painting of the moon-god Chandra in his antelope-drawn chariot. "Actual Indian moon lander ($75M) cost less than half the movie 'Interstellar' ($165M)." And I saw posts celebrating the women scientists we could see in the control room. Speaking of which, you might remember a 2014 photo from the celebration of the… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 9:32 AM on August 23, 2023

Perhaps some people who have commented in this thread might like to consider what people from India think of Westerners asking whether India's space programs are a good idea. To such folks, I re-recommend that you read Iona Datt Sharma's short story "Heard, Half-Heard, in the Stillness" which I linked earlier. The story includes a person from the US who says to an Indian,

“Ram told me all about you,” Leah burbled on, unperturbed by Ekta’s uncertainty. “The… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 7:41 AM on August 24, 2023

My Fediverse (social media) feed yesterday was a torrent of shock and sadness at this news; I exclaimed aloud with horror when I read it, as Nóva's insights and observations on sociotechnical topics had been something of a fixture for some time before she handed Hachyderm over to Nivenly, and it was so terrible to have her ripped away from us.

I follow several people who use the Hachyderm Mastodon instance. Their grief.

The Hacker News thread… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 9:44 AM on August 21, 2023

I really appreciated this articulation:

The formula is simple— find a group of participants, take away everything that makes them feel safe and in control of their world, and then watch them explode.

It applies to these surveillance-style exploitation shows, and, as the author goes on to say, to so much institutional mistreatment of populaces in general. And it speaks to how fundamentally abusive the premise can be, yet in a… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 6:09 PM on August 19, 2023

Previously: another gallows-humor resource on similar topics, including "Depressing Mad Libs" (obituary templates), and "So You Suddenly Have To Become Some Kind of Hacker" on figuring out how to get access to the deceased person's online accounts. There were some good tips shared in that thread, too.

My condolences to all of us who are at any stage of going through or having gone through this. I've now outlived both my parents, one of whom died… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 9:59 AM on August 17, 2023

What a poignant read.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 7:58 AM on July 24, 2023

In the comments on Tor.com you can read my multiple comments as I came back, several times, years apart, rereading the story and burbling with praise.

I so love that Marisol and Richard become friends, that his crankiness is the crankiness of someone who loves excellence and despises lazy writing and thoughtlessness. I love the comparison of cliches to plaque, and “Anything is better than unearned ambivalence.”

At this particular moment I think… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:30 AM on July 23, 2023

Nicholas Whyte shared his assessment of the ballot, including of the "Babel" rumor.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 5:13 AM on July 11, 2023

Whyte noted regarding Babel by R.F. Kuang:

Hugo voters have different tastes to Nebula and Locus voters, and it’s not at all unusual that a Nebula winning novel fails to make the Hugo ballot – I count eight precedents so far this century, starting with Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Talents.

To the point Zarkonnen made:

But I do find it telling that the Jeddah bid got rejected while… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 8:37 AM on July 11, 2023

'Sunlight" is fascinating.

I appreciate the authors I've read who do this kind of (to me, fundamentally optimistic) design fiction. Malka Older, Ruthanna Emrys, Iona Datt Sharma, Annalee Newitz, sometimes Neal Stephenson or Bruce Sterling or Charlie Stross but they are usually more cynical, MJ Locke in "Up Against It", Cory Doctorow in "Walkaway", Charlie Jane Anders and Naomi Kritzer. I love this stuff.

But so often the… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 5:04 AM on July 11, 2023

Jeanne wrote:

The problem is the thousands of mutually contradictory ideas about what good fiction is and what good fiction should do. When I read an essay about what fiction needs in order to advance social justice, I think, "Yes, I should do that!" and when I read an essay about what fiction needs in order to be complex, challenging, beautifully crafted literature, I think, "Yes, I should do that!" and when half of Speculative Fiction Twitter gets… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:50 PM on June 30, 2023

A few years ago I was reflecting on how acceptance is not the same as resignation.

I had been talking with a friend, many months previous, and race stuff came up, and the desire to not screw up, and the desire to not be perceived as screwing up. And one thing he said was that he doesn't want anyone to hate him.

And I found myself articulating something that I don't know whether I had before, which is: the optimal number of people who… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 11:07 AM on July 3, 2023

It's a fun song and I enjoy it, and I'm glad the article's author Kalle Oskari Mattila likes it too. I'm glad I got to read this article. Really appreciated the ending:

....In a nation of immigrants, the themes of arrival, survival, and belonging will always resonate.

I’ve lived in the States now for almost a decade. The years here have felt exhilarating — but also tenuous, like a house of cards that could collapse at any moment. Added to my… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:58 AM on July 2, 2023

hippybear, thank you for this series of posts. I regret that I have not had the leisure to enjoy them fully and sink into the links you've shared during June, and look forward to doing so and to appreciating what you have so consistently and generously brought to our attention.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:10 PM on June 30, 2023

"Omelas" on MetaFilter previously.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 3:43 AM on June 29, 2023

I'm glad to have read this today.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 1:08 PM on June 27, 2023

I am so glad I read that interview. Thank you.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:29 PM on June 10, 2023

I appreciate learning this news and I appreciate the front page post format and summary!
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 1:05 PM on May 30, 2023

I appreciated the pointer to read this; thanks.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:56 PM on May 24, 2023

I see you can't easily link to searching for a specific address, but when I search for

370 JAY STREET, Brooklyn, 11201

I get a map that shows me all the boundaries it's in:

Community District 302
Police Precinct 84
Sanitation District BKN02
Fire Battalion 32
School District 13
Health Center District 38
City Council District 33
City… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:41 AM on May 14, 2023

The post mentions "People have also complained about having more diverse casting in a majority-white location" -- I have read the links and I haven't found this complaint, at least not explicitly. Could someone help me find it?

Rothschild's argument is with the proportion of contemporary plays at OSF, and when I read the various Letters to the Editor on the Ashland News website, that's the argument I see over and over again from people who oppose the recent… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 7:24 PM on May 13, 2023

snofoam, I have read that passage and I read it differently than you do. I see him arguing about the audience for Shakespeare versus contemporary plays, not about the casting of the plays.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:36 AM on May 14, 2023

His argument (as I understand it) is based on the premise that the contemporary plays that OSF is staging are by racially diverse playwrights and on social justice topics, and are meant to attract racially diverse audiences. There may be a dogwhistle in there about diverse casting, but an explicitly stated complaint about diverse casting of Shakespeare plays is not in there, as I read it.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:45 AM on May 14, 2023

I saw this news and said "Oh no" aloud. I remember her as a writer who made me laugh.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:30 AM on May 10, 2023

THIS TALK IS SO GOOD. I am biased because Allison is a friend of mine but still!
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 8:57 AM on May 10, 2023

I am having a hard time specifically dredging up titles but I think at least 2-3 of Courtney Milan's romance novels turn on specific points of contract law! Possibly Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure in particular.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 8:57 AM on May 1, 2023

GCU Sweet and Full of Grace, you have reminded me of a very tiny aspect of my ongoing romance with my spouse where, when we make a low-stakes bet (e.g., "I bet this character in this show apologizes before the end of the episode") we will often bet each other one kiss, i.e., the loser kisses the winner. Everyone wins!
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 11:24 AM on May 1, 2023

I decided to check the comprehensive romance novel review & listings site Smart Bitches, Trashy Books by searching for the word "contract" and found, e.g.,

"...On that fateful night, they are filmed canoodling (love that word!) and it goes viral. They have both been outed. Their respective managers cook up the best possible response to this: a fake relationship. There’s a contract and everything...."

"...She’s told… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 8:56 AM on May 3, 2023

Upon reading this post & thread, Mark Dominus was reminded of "the difficulty I had in explaining to my kids the complex transactions going on in A Bargain for Frances".

Later I thought of a better example, with no distracting goblins: suppose Katara asks for raspberries, and I know there are some in the refrigerator, but I tell her that we have none, because I want to eat them myself. I think this was just a little bit too complicated… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:30 AM on May 9, 2023

I really appreciated getting to read this. Thank you.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 7:48 AM on May 6, 2023

Enjoyed this "Good One" podcast episode interviewing Yankovic about "Word Crimes" and his recent career.

Weird Al Yankovic is one of those artists whose work has been intertwined with my entire life as a sentient person developing and enjoying my own aesthetic tastes. His career is infrastructural to me. I cannot have perspective on it the way that I cannot have perspective on the planet I stand upon.

Along with Fred Rogers,… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:19 AM on May 5, 2023

Thanks for this post. The article is a summary of a research study focusing on riders in Greater Melbourne, Australia:

Lauren Pearson, Sandy Reeder, Belinda Gabbe, Ben Beck, "What a girl wants: A mixed-methods study of gender differences in the barriers to and enablers of riding a bike in Australia," Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2023.03.010. (https://www.sciencedirect.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:34 AM on May 3, 2023

This was a GREAT read. Thanks for posting this.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 9:08 PM on April 28, 2023

I've known the basic legend for years, and it's in Falk's autobiography - looking forward to watching these! Thanks!
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 6:41 AM on April 20, 2023

You have taken me back to 20+ years ago, and the shop Games of Berkeley, and silly times with people I have long fallen out of touch with.

I did not realize that James Ernest also worked on Girl Genius: The Works!

Fascinating articles and blog posts on his site, such as this one about selling a casino game.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 2:58 AM on April 15, 2023

Henry talked with readers in the comments on her blog, and responded to someone who wanted to better understand why "rent a wheelchair" advice might not work for many visitors. In her comment she shared history and context for her own wheelchair use, and the questions and fears she notices when older people see her in a powerchair and consider how a powerchair might improve their own mobility or the mobility of someone they love.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 3:26 AM on April 14, 2023

box, thank you for posting this. It was an informative read that got me reflecting on how strict my parents were when I was growing up. And my heart just sank at these parts:

In January of our senior year, Darci had a miscarriage, something she shared with me only years later in an interview. At the time, she told no one about it. But she had a doctor’s note saying she needed to rest. She kept using Wite-Out to extend the date on it in order to get out of school. She did… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 4:50 AM on April 11, 2023