September 15, 2021

How do you like them books?

eBooks vs Printed Books: Which are better?

The history of the book starts with the development of writing, paper and printing.

Now there's an ongoing debate over which is better - e-books or paper books. [more inside]
posted by bendy at 9:26 PM PST - 166 comments

I could be anymeme you like

I can be brown, I can be blue, I can be violet sky... (sltwitter)
posted by curious nu at 7:55 PM PST - 20 comments

Volume warning

"The Federal Signal Thunderbolt siren is one of the most famous 'older sirens' in the history of sirens." Check out the high-low fire signal on this one in Sarnia, ON, one that's flooded, in Maysville, OK, one on full alert in Seminole, OK, an alternate wail in Saint Paul, NE, an unwell example in Riceville, IA, or watch private owners of various Thunderbolt models test out their siren in the yard, demonstrate the Thunderbolt's "chopper" levels, the hi-lo solenoid, its "pulse signal," a decoupled "blower" in action, extra blower action, or dual Thunderbolts in concert. [more inside]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:49 PM PST - 23 comments

A Musical Interlude...

Skylark, a 1941 popular song with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, music by Hoagy Carmichael and the jazz stylings of Ella Fitzgerald...
posted by jim in austin at 3:26 PM PST - 11 comments

Brutes

Amitav Ghosh's meditations on the myth of the voiceless.
posted by Ouverture at 3:18 PM PST - 4 comments

Rewild Your Attention

"If you want to have wilder, curiouser thoughts, you have to avoid the industrial monocropping of big-tech feeds. You want an intellectual forest, overgrown with mushrooms and towering weeds and a massive dead log where a family of raccoons has taken up residence." Clive Thompson's "Rewilding Your Attention" (Medium) is a brief reflection on the value of seeking out idiosyncratic content. Time to go for a random walk in the woods.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:05 PM PST - 22 comments

Courtney’s Story

"“‘Oh my God, please tell the truth,'” she recalled saying as Meyer spoke. “I was on my hands and knees, going, ‘Please tell the truth, Urban, please.'” Urban Meyer would fail Courtney Smith that day, and he wasn’t alone. Defector’s conversations with Courtney and those who are close to her, as well as the examination of hundreds of pages of records from law enforcement, the courts, and Ohio State, reveal the many ways that people and institutions across Ohio acted to primarily protect themselves rather than Courtney." CW:Abuse [more inside]
posted by Carillon at 12:48 PM PST - 12 comments

I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you Valentine evenings

The Labyrinth (of Jareth) Masquerade Ball is an annual dance and narrative theatrical event, based in Los Angeles and inspired by the As The World Falls Down sequence from Jim Henson's Labyrinth (Fanfare). Photo galleries of attendees' elaborate costumes from the last seven years: '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19. (The ball is planned to return in 2022 after two years of health and safety concerns.) An article at Cosplay Culture goes into more detail about the ball's evolving storyline and how much work goes into it each year.
posted by one for the books at 11:54 AM PST - 9 comments

My hovercraft is full of eels

How to Say What You Need to Say in Another Language. "You know those language textbook dialogues? Where people seem to talk more about silverware (“the fork, the knife”) and what color things are more than any real person ever does and, having mastered these locutions, you get off the plane in a place where the language is spoken and can barely figure out how to say, “How do I get outside?”" [more inside]
posted by storybored at 10:30 AM PST - 116 comments

Get off my lawn

In which a guy decries Sally Rooney, praises Ottessa Moshfegh, ties himself into a knot about Philip Roth, dumps on Ben Lerner, and includes the names Toni Morrison, Raven Leilani, and Zadie Smith.
posted by scratch at 6:45 AM PST - 40 comments

On singleness, self-sufficiency and masculinity

There is no real guidebook for a woman alone in her home. No one threw me a shower. To give me pots and pans. The ones I’d left behind and couldn’t afford to replace. No one to give me hammers and socket wrenches. No one told me about furnace filters or gutter cleaning or caulking. There was only me and a house and a vast gap of knowledge. Single homeowner Lyz Lenz thanks the dads of YouTube. [more inside]
posted by Bella Donna at 6:15 AM PST - 54 comments

The Innovation of Modular Housing: How Buildings Learn Pattern Languages

Apartments Built on an Assembly Line [ungated] - "The pandemic put a general crimp in housing construction, but made a California factory that churns out prefabricated housing extra busy."[1,2] [more inside]
posted by kliuless at 4:56 AM PST - 33 comments

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