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On March 5, 2019, Dziobak abruptly shut down. To many of the College of Wizardry larpers, the news came as a shock. But to Rain, and to anyone else who had worked with Dziobak, it had always been a question of when, not if, the seemingly robust studio would fold. Allegations of financial mismanagement, worker mistreatment, and sexual harassment had dogged Dziobak and its CEO Claus Raasted for years. Dziobak was no castle built of stone, but a house of cards.
posted by storytam at 10:48 PM PST - 14 comments

One family's delightful quarantine parody of One Day More. The kid in the football jersey has the best set of pipes, but the whole family gives it their all.
posted by merriment at 7:35 PM PST - 21 comments

Greyhound racing was scheduled to become illegal in Florida by the end of 2021. Due to COVID, however, two of the seven remaining tracks closed nine months early--leaving Florida greyhound rescues scrambling for fosters and adoptees to house 1,500 abruptly retired dogs months ahead of schedule. Fortunately, ex-racing greyhounds make great pets, and they are generally healthy dogs. Greyhound rescue orgs nationwide are stepping in to help the Florida dogs find homes as seamlessly as possible. If you're interested, find your nearest rescue here or reach out to Awesome Greyhound Adoptions, the rescue serving the affected tracks most directly.
posted by sciatrix at 6:28 PM PST - 29 comments

Way to Go is a walk in the woods. It is an astonishing interactive experience, a restless panorama, a mixture of hand-made animation, 360˚ video capture, music and dreaming and code; but mostly it is a walk in the woods, c'mon. Created by Vincent Morisset, Philippe Lambert, Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit & Caroline Robert (AATOAA). Produced by the NFB & France TV.
posted by bq at 4:49 PM PST - 11 comments

As the videoconferencing platform’s popularity has surged, Zoom has scrambled to address a series of data privacy and security problems: New York Attorney General Looks Into Zoom’s Privacy Practices (New York Times). FBI Warns of Teleconferencing and Online Classroom Hijacking During COVID-19 Pandemic (FBI). Zoom is Leaking Peoples' Email Addresses and Photos to Strangers (Vice). Zoom Meetings Aren’t End-To-End Encrypted, Despite Misleading Marketing (The Intercept) [more inside]
posted by not_the_water at 3:39 PM PST - 88 comments

On Thursday, West Townshend, Vermont resident Rick Veitch will be appointed Vermont’s fourth cartoonist laureate. Vermont is the only state that regularly appoints a cartoonist laureate. The title is granted every three years at an awards ceremony attended by the congressional delegation at the Vermont State House in Montpelier. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the recognition will instead be via a live stream. There are plans to hold an event for Rick in the (hopefully) near future. [more inside]
posted by terrapin at 2:46 PM PST - 12 comments

With 22 feature-length films released to date, Pixar has made significant technological and logistic advancements in the 25 years since Toy Story was released. With each movie, they've also documented some of their lessons learned, from how they went from making shorts and commercials to their first full film in "Black Friday," to re-creating the flaws in physical cameras to make WALL·E look faux-photo-realistic in "The Imperfect Lens." Come along for even more docu-shorts! [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 2:33 PM PST - 5 comments

Death by Deportation, With Help From the Human Rights Establishment - By defining violence narrowly, the asylum system—and human rights organizations that uphold it—legitimates deporting people back to face everyday injustices. The pandemic only further illuminates this inhumanity. [more inside]
posted by aniola at 1:59 PM PST - 2 comments

Did RuPaul just announce he has a fracking empire on his ranch?
RuPaul Has a Fracking Empire on His Wyoming Ranch [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:39 PM PST - 18 comments

Later Daters is a dating sim full of sexy seniors [YouTube][Game Trailer] [Theme Lyric Music Video]“Dating sims are usually full of young, hot singles in your area, but a new take on dating sims from Canadian indie studio Bloom Digital Media is taking a different approach. Later Daters, which is due for a release on Steam and Nintendo Switch on April 16, stars a protagonist who has recently joined a retirement home. The retirement community is full of residents, and players can flirt with — and date a lucky candidate — from eight different characters. The story is looking to buck the stereotypes about older people falling in love, but there are still some retirement-friendly activities for players to choose from and meet potential lovers at, including morning yoga and playing cards.” [via: Polygon]
posted by Fizz at 11:45 AM PST - 8 comments

In the 1920s, Buster Keaton was one of the most famous silent film stars in the world. In classics like Steamboat Bill, The General and Sherlock Jr, he performed all his own stunts, many of which could have killed him if anything went wrong. Here's a roundup of some of his best, and an analysis of his comedic genius. [more inside]
posted by gottabefunky at 11:41 AM PST - 29 comments

Walken Dance
posted by y2karl at 11:30 AM PST - 35 comments

Cheer Me Up. Jon Daly's shot for shot remake of The Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" Music Video. (SLYT)
posted by bondcliff at 10:41 AM PST - 12 comments

Sanna Marin became the world’s youngest state leader when she was made prime minister of Finland in December (2019) at the age of 34. Here, she sits down with Sirin Kale for the May 2020 issue of British Vogue.
posted by Mrs Potato at 10:22 AM PST - 10 comments

“We can confidently expect the Houllebecqian nightmare we’ve been warned of. Without a massive stimulus package, the corona crash will wipe out most of the small-scale service sector, from barbers to nail salons to internet cafes to specialty coffee bars. The only companies left standing will be Amazon and the large chains, now lording over a recalibrated sub-economy designed to deliver ‘essential’ goods.” It Might Take A While Before History Starts Again (Damage) “ Monetary weapons have been exhausted; there is no ammunition left for central banks to fire. And fiscal stimulus will be inadequate. So, the global slump cannot be avoided by these policies that are designed to sustain the capitalist economy, not replace it.” The Virus, Capitalism, and the Long Depression (Spectre Magazine) The Coronavirus Crisis Is Disaster Capitalism In Action. Here’s How the Left Can Respond.(In These Times) Avoiding Eco-Fascist Responses To The Crisis (Wear Your Voice) What happens when an apocalyptic pandemic meets the apocalyptic death-cult of neoliberalism? (Current Affairs) Working People Podcast: Make Love, Not Stonks. The Dig Podcast interviews Marxist Economist Grace Blakeley on the economists of Cornoairus.
posted by The Whelk at 9:19 AM PST - 104 comments

A big move. But think about what this means. All this effort, all those cancellations, all those people staying away from emergency departments and the health service is only just below the 85 per cent line – what was once considered its normal operating capacity.

In The NHS at capacity Chris Cook looks at how the last few decades have left the NHS overstretched even in normal times because it had to choose efficiency over spare capacity for a crisis.
posted by MartinWisse at 8:32 AM PST - 5 comments

We=Link: Ten Easy Pieces is an online exhibition of ten digital art projects, sponsored by Chronos Art Center, Nabi, Rhizome, and others. [more inside]
posted by eotvos at 8:18 AM PST - 3 comments

I have always, always said I wished Dolly Parton (and/or Cher) was my Mom. Now I get the next best thing. Dolly Parton will be reading us bedtime stories to keep alive a love of reading and stories in troubled times.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:12 AM PST - 10 comments

Here is a short video about some stylish goats taking over the empty streets of Llandudno. That is all. Single link youtube. More links [more inside]
posted by glasseyes at 7:40 AM PST - 21 comments

Max Barry, author of Jennifer Government, Machine Man, and Lexicon among other novels, and creator of the Web politics game NationStates (previously in 2011 and 2003), has a new book called Providence out today, and has created an online "battle simulator" to accompany the new book.
posted by nicwolff at 7:38 AM PST - 11 comments

Joe Diffie, prominent voice of 90s country, is dead at 61. King of the mullet and good-hearted drinking songs, Joe was known for his working-man vibe and intricate song lyrics. Many of his songs are still played on country radio today. He was still working in Nashville, having released his first vinyl record Joe, Joe, Joe Diffie in 2019. [more inside]
posted by possibilityleft at 6:15 AM PST - 19 comments

In a previous video about the pipe organ at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, YouTube musician Rob Scallon noticed one of the stops was labelled "MIDI", an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. He asked if it was possible to drive the organ from a laptop set up as a MIDI sequencer, and the answer was a solid "maybe". So he went back to try it. [SLYT, 22 minutes, watch with good audio if you can]
posted by FishBike at 5:24 AM PST - 28 comments