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Six brothers. That’s how many brothers it takes to make a Ginny Weasley. That’s how much familial finally-a-daughter pressure is required to make a Ginny Weasley. That’s the weight of hand-me-down boy’s-jeans and you-can’t-do-it-you’re-a-girl that’s necessary to make a Ginny Weasley. Women of Harry Potter: Ginny is Not Impressed by Sarah Gailey. [more inside]
posted by guster4lovers at 6:42 PM PST - 48 comments

How to Adjust Your Mirrors to Avoid Blind Spots. "For the past few years, various carmakers have been offering blind-spot detection systems for their cars’ side mirrors. Often complex, these systems employ cameras or radar to scan the adjoining lanes for vehicles that may have disappeared from view. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper in 1995 suggesting how outside mirrors could be adjusted to eliminate blind spots." [more inside]
posted by storybored at 6:01 PM PST - 88 comments

Inside CBC Radio’s New ‘q’ with Tom Power [Toronto Star] “This past week, Tom Power [@tompowercbc] assumed his most prominent post yet: host of q. Taking over CBC Radio’s flagging flagship property can’t be considered a simple promotion, not after the damage inflicted to the brand by Jian Ghomeshi’s scandal and Shad’s brutally brief succession. When it comes to hot seats, there are few warmer than this particular hosting chair. And for all Power’s ascendant momentum, it’s a mighty burden to task one person with being the answer for q. Power has no illusions about being a one-man saviour — if his q succeeds, it will do so not as a solo performance, but something more akin to a loose-limbed kitchen party. Power’s show seems less about the dulcet tone of its authoritative host, and more about the benefit of voices from across the country and behind the scenes, with the goal of making art of all kinds more accessible and appreciated.” [more inside]
posted by Fizz at 5:57 PM PST - 56 comments

Many vehicles have horns. There are some who think bicycles should have one. And then there are those who just want to make a little music with them. [more inside]
posted by But tomorrow is another day... at 4:24 PM PST - 23 comments

Look, next time aliens demand sex for helping you escape, remember that they probably don't know a damn thing about how humans actually do it (SFW).
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:47 PM PST - 35 comments

Daniel Oberhaus, Motherboard: "On the Silver Globe [full film] is one of the best sci-fi films I've ever seen, or at least it would’ve been if Zulawski had been able to finish it. As it exists today, it is only partially complete, a victim of censorship by Poland’s communist government. Fortunately Zulawski returned to Poland to rescue the film in the late 1980s after a period of self-imposed exile, so we have at least some idea of what could’ve been. At once the retelling of a 100-year old sci-fi novel written by Andrzej Zulawski’s granduncle Jerzy Zulawski, a meditation on communist Poland, and a deeply personal insight into the breakdown of Zulawski’s marriage, On the Silver Globe is a kaleidoscopic tour de force that was almost swallowed by history."
posted by sapagan at 3:27 PM PST - 8 comments

The documentary 'Before the Flood' is free to stream on National Geographic's Youtube channel until November 6. It follows Leonardo DiCaprio as he interviews individuals from every facet of society in both developing and developed nations who provide unique, impassioned and pragmatic views on what must be done today and in the future to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet from climate change.
posted by Cantdosleepy at 12:46 PM PST - 16 comments

Vine users can now port all their loops into Giphy -- although the process necessarily removes the audio, which for many vines was integral. [more inside]
posted by me3dia at 11:38 AM PST - 27 comments

The Professor Who Made Movies Talk. On June 9, 1922, Dr. Joseph Tycociner, the University of Illinois's first professor of electrical engineering held a public demonstration of his invention that simultaneously recorded sound and picture on the same film, instead of having to sync them on separate contraptions.

Those in attendance saw harshly lit pictures of people ringing bells, reciting oratory and playing the violin. They stayed close to the microphone -- taken from a telephone, with a megaphone attached to capture the sound. The film’s sound track was plainly visible on the right-hand side of the movie image, a strip that carried the encoded sound by shifting quickly from white to shades of grey and back again.

[more inside]
posted by obscurator at 11:26 AM PST - 11 comments

Dad: Why were you putting your head in there, anyway?
Rachel: I just thought it would be funny.
Mom: It was funny! [more inside]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:44 AM PST - 45 comments

How well do you know your Halloween animals? Some animals have a sinister reputation this time of year. Amateurs. We got yer vortex of evil right here: [more inside]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 10:33 AM PST - 14 comments

Kelly Conaboy of The Hairpin got freaked out at a podcast host pronouncing the first word in "read receipts" as reed rather than red. A Slack poll, a party conversation, and a Google dive later, Conaboy ties the pronunciation to Tim Cook firing Scott Forstall.
posted by Etrigan at 10:08 AM PST - 75 comments

Q: Hey kids, what do you want to do for Halloween? A: PUT A HEAD ON A STICK AND HAVE A PARTY! [more inside]
posted by vrakatar at 8:37 AM PST - 5 comments

Celebrity make-up artist, photographer, and Instagram luminary Mathu Andersen has spent most of his career on the margins of popular aesthetics and gender expression. He is most widely known as RuPaul's makeup artist, and was nominated in 2015 for an Emmy for Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special for an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. But the self-proclaimed 'wig whisperer' has a broad range of styles and techniques that you can find in his self-portraits. You probably don't have enough time to master his skeleton face design for Halloween, but you can give his Cat Lady Transformation of James St. James a try. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 7:34 AM PST - 10 comments

Together we investigate the possibility of a minimal bicycle that does not require multiple feet nor the reversal of gravity. I have some reservations about the performance, but none about the aesthetics. [SLYT]
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:14 AM PST - 50 comments

This morning, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Fry v. Napoleon County Schools; Ehlena Fry, a then five year old girl with cerebral palsy, was told by her school that her service dog, Wonder, could not accompany her, since the district was already paying for an aide to help. Ehlena and Wonder's case was brought by the ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan. (video)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:15 AM PST - 35 comments

A supercut of Donald Trump saying his own name. After that you might need some guided meditation.
posted by feelinglistless at 3:43 AM PST - 30 comments

David Nagler has set some of Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems to music. The work includes an all-star cast of Chicago musicians, including Robbie Fulks, Sally Timms and Jon Langford of the Mekons, and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Under the Harvest Moon and Theme in Yellow are especially autumnal. More about the project here.
posted by carrienation at 1:48 AM PST - 7 comments