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As a physician who cared for the oldest and sickest people in New York’s jails, I thought the pandemic might create a portal to a better world. Two years later, I wonder if we missed our chance.
posted by geoff. at 7:34 PM PST - 7 comments

It all began when police found a small quantity of "a cannabis-like plant material" in the car of Jōmon-revivalist sculptor ŌYABU Ryūjirō (大藪龍二郎, nickname "Yaburyū". He believes that the Jōmon "cords" are actually cannabis fibers.). But it goes back farther than that, to when MIKI Naoko (scroll to the bottom) (三木直子) was translating Marijuana is Safer into Japanese, and was moved by the story of Peter McWilliams, a Prop-215-protected AIDS patient who was persecuted by the US Federal government and denied access to cannabis, and aspirated on his own vomit on his bathroom floor and died while awaiting trial. MIKI appears on the Great Moments in Weed History podcast to promote a Change.org petition (English follows Japanese) to pressure the judge in Yaburyū's trial to accept evidence and witnesses from the defense into consideration. The next court date happens today (in Japan time), March 25th 2022, about one hour from the time of this post. [more inside]
posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 6:02 PM PST - 18 comments

The JiXia Academy was a scholarly academy during the Warring States period of China. Daoist, Naturalist, Mohist, and Confucian scholars all spent time there, including such luminaries as Zhuangzi and Mencius. [more inside]
posted by ambulocetus at 4:29 PM PST - 18 comments

Second Hand Songs is a project that collects information about covers of recorded music. They also have a radio show featuring curated covers. [more inside]
posted by eotvos at 11:39 AM PST - 22 comments

Lapham's Quarterly delivers a deep-dive analysis of Roman allusions, imagery, and most of all, Emperors, in heavy metal music. Follow Jeremy Swist down the metal rabbit hole \m/
posted by supermedusa at 11:22 AM PST - 14 comments

And here, my Precious, is the Site Map of TOLKIEN -- the official website of the Estate of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. It is a museum, library and near universe of almost all things Tolkien

For example: his Letter to the poet W. H. Auden 7 June 1955

or...

his Painting, to name but a few...

Let other horrible workers etc. etc...
posted by y2karl at 8:52 AM PST - 14 comments

Over the last three years, beatriceeagle has made fifteen fanvids celebrating, critiquing, and reflecting on Star Trek -- one vid for each song in the album Rainbow by Kesha (formerly Ke$ha). The playlist on YouTube has 14 videos and AO3 links to a fifteenth bonus track. Standouts include "Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down": "A vid for the underserved and screwed-over characters of Star Trek", and "Praying": "Some things only God can forgive. (Kira and Dukat)". "Praying" previously on MeFi.
posted by brainwane at 3:12 AM PST - 9 comments

An investigation by MIT Technology Review reveals a sprawling, technologically sophisticated system of police surveillance targeting civil rights activists, protesters, and members of the press in Minnesota.

part 1: Cops built a shadowy surveillance machine in Minnesota after George Floyd’s murder

part 2: After protests around George Floyd’s murder ended, a police system for watching protesters kept going

part 3: Inside the app Minnesota police used to collect data on journalists at protests

[more inside]
posted by theory at 1:12 AM PST - 15 comments