October 4, 2019
(Translated) Weird Tales from the 19th Century
Elisabeth van der Meer, "Russian Ghost Stories" (A Russian Affair, 15 Oct. 2018): "Now that the evenings are getting longer again, it’s the perfect time to read ghost stories. And there were plenty of ghosts, witches and other scary things around in 19th century Russian literature!" The list includes Nikolai Gogol's "The Viy" (1835)--basis for the classic horror film Viy (1967; 72 mins.; IMDb; detailed review; enthusiasm for it on MeFi)--and Anton Chekhov's "The Black Monk" (1893; LitMed [spoilers]), an eerie tale connected to Braga's "Légende valaque" (lyrics). If a low-key drama set rather than written in the 19th C. sounds more appealing, there are many ghosts in the Russian paranormal mystery TV series Detective Anna (2016-2017; 56 eps.; IMDb). [more inside]
"Autopsy is always for the living"
Livestreaming the process of cutting into and dissecting a dead body may sound grisly or voyeuristic — almost like a snuff film or the unsettling wave of pimple-popping videos that flooded the internet a few years ago. But Margolis, who’s also an accomplished orchestral musician and improv performer, sees his services as an empowering tool for families of the recently deceased. Not only to provide useful information in the face of a tragic event, but also to help them come to terms with their loss.
"Families come to us for closure, for grief, to find out what happened."
[Article does not contain video or images; some description may be disturbing] [more inside]
"Families come to us for closure, for grief, to find out what happened."
[Article does not contain video or images; some description may be disturbing] [more inside]
This heart yearns for the salt of unsmelt air, unswept thunderstorms...
3.5 minutes of beautiful storms rolling across the plains. If you liked that, here's Transient 1, previously on MeFi.
The internet thinks Mike Postle is a cheat
Shenmue 3 is more Shenmue.
Shenmue 3's Demo Is 1999 In A Bottle [Kotaku] “Whether it’s talking to a shopkeeper or chopping wood to earn a little extra money, Shenmue 3 has a unique simplicity. Maybe you wander and play a quick game of Lucky Hit, a simple but addictive game where you drop a ball down a pachinko-esque peg board. Maybe you spend too much money buying capsule toys from gacha machines outside the local shop. These are familiar activities, longtime staples of the series, and like everything else they retain a deliberate pace. In 2019, that can feel strange, but it does evoke the feeling of the earlier games. Shenmue 3 could have easily felt overproduced or too modern. For good or ill, things don’t seem much different than they were 20 years ago. [...] Players looking for a slower pace and old-school sensibilities will be pleased. Newer players eager to see what the big deal is could walk away disappointed that the series isn’t quite in step with modern design. Like the original games before it, I get the sense Shenmue 3 will be a love-it-or-hate-it affair.” [2015 E3 Announcement] [2019 E3 Demo Trailer] [Gamescom Trailer] [more inside]
“They never thought black guys would want to save lives”
James Robinson, 79, Dies; Filled an Ambulance Gap in Brooklyn: Frustrated that responses to emergency calls took too long in Bedford-Stuyvesant, he started a volunteer ambulance corps, and it’s been nimble. At first he and a friend with whom he started the corps listened to police and fire department radios and went to addresses they heard on the air — accident scenes or apartments where sick people needed help. They answered the calls in their own cars. Before long they got an ambulance [in 1990], the first of several that the corps would operate. Mr. Robinson recalled in 2017 that on the first day with the first ambulance, the corps treated 10 people at the scene of a fire. On the second day, corps members delivered a baby. [more inside]
Really really unhappy
Musician, songwriter and photographer Kim Shattuck (the Muffs [previously], Pandoras, et al) has passed away at age 56 from ALS. The Muffs' final album is scheduled to be released October 18th.
Like Eating Sadness
In Mark Bittman's latest project, Heated, a culinary conflict is stewing. It started with a piece by Emily Nunn claiming that tuna noodle casserole has no place in the American comfort food canon. In defense of this esteemed hot dish, Samantha Irby responds with an appetizing retort disguised as a recipe.
It's...
Monty Python's Flying Circus' 50th Anniversary On Sunday, October 5, 1969 a group of six young chaps, most of whom had begun performing separately and together several years earlier at Cambridge and/or Oxford and had already become familiar faces on a handful of BBC comedy programmes. made their debut broadcast of a show that could have been called "Bunn, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot". [more inside]
Cookware does not emit sounds or illuminate
The Star Wars x Le Creuset Collection will soon be available, of which the Tatooine round Dutch oven has an extremely limited release. But there's also a Han Solo in carbonite roaster, a pie bird, some silicone trivets, droid mini cocottes, and {breathes heavily} ... "I hear blue milk pairs beautifully with porg." Items range from $20 to $900. Post title from the advert on YouTube.
The Great Nigel Forage
When he heard that no babies born in Britain in 2016 were named Nigel, Nigel Smith began to fret that the people with whom he shared a first name were a "dying breed." ... Instead of going into mourning, however, he decided to have some fun with it. He owns the Fleece Inn, near Worcestershire, so he organized "Nigel Night" at the pub.
fluttering unseen through shadows and hiding underground in caves
Primum Non Nocere
In the past few years, we've seen the use of open source software turned to unethical ends, such as we saw recently with Chef and their contracting with ICE. In response, developer Coraline Ada Ehmke has created the Hippocratic License - a license that requires users to "first, do no harm". [more inside]
Freedom From Toil
“Long hours are not coincidental, not choices made by people who simply love their jobs. Nor are they inevitable. They are the result of the drive toward more profit, wrung out of workers who produce ever more, yet receive less pay for their efforts. The lessons of the shorter-hours movements of centuries and decades past are still deeply relevant, and are being revived for a new time.” The Four-Day Work Week—Not Just a Daydream (The Progressive) Labour commits to 32-hour working week within a decade (The Independent) A Shorter Work Week Without Drop In Pay : A Radical and Pragmatic Proposal. (Previously: Who Stole The Four Day Week?)
I want that good grief, the one that heals me
Scrimshanders are a rare breed and their work has entered the American consciousness chiefly as the domain of 19th century whalers. But this Friday, Fourteenfifteen Gallery will not be a showing the scrimshaw work of some second mate named Delmar from The Rose of Nantucket, but rather the scrimshaw of Adri De La Cruz of Albuquerque. Her take is pure New Mexico. Bones of Grief, the Scrimshaw of Adri De La Cruz (Albuquerque Alibi artist interview) "Good Grief" is currently showing at Fourteenfifteen Gallery, which has a few more photos of her work. [more inside]
The Complicated, Slightly Better Manhood of Achewood
Between October 1, 2001, and December 25, 2016, cartoonist Chris Onstad gifted the world with Achewood. Loved by some, hated by others, it was unbelievably inventive with language but out of touch with its inclusivity. In two recent entries for the MNT, Keith Pille (a.k.a. Mefi's own COBRA!) raises the questions of Achewood's vision of modern manhood, as well as whether it has a misogyny problem.
7 positive changes that have come from the #MeToo movement
50 songs in 2:55
1979 -- a mix of the year's music presented by The Hood. They plan to release one more for each of the following years over the next three Thursdays. [more inside]
Organic Compounds in Plumes of Saturn's Moon Enceladus
Organic Compounds in Plumes of Saturn's Moon Enceladus NASA's Cassini spacecraft collected invaluable data and images of Saturn and its moons over the approximately 20 years that the mission took place. While the mission ended on Sept. 15, 2017, scientists continue to study the wealth of data that they gathered during the mission. [more inside]
Narrative, Fiction and World-Building Reality
Ursula K. Le Guin's Revolutions - "Le Guin's work is distinctive not only because it is imaginative, or because it is political, but because she thought so deeply about the work of building a future worth living." [more inside]
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