MetaFilter

..from TMZ: Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., was found dead in a friend's house by his crew. No cause of death has been revealed, but TMZ is noting that there weren't any drugs on scene. [more inside]
posted by kfholy at 8:20 PM PST - 59 comments

It all started with a tweet. Last Friday, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden saw that the one and only Lizzo was coming to D.C. for a concert. The pop megastar is a classically trained flautist. The Library has the world’s largest flute collection. Taking to Twitter, the Librarian played matchmaker, tagging Lizzo in a tweet about the world-class flutes. "Like your song," she tweeted, "they are 'Good as hell.'" Lizzo agreed.
posted by Etrigan at 12:26 PM PST - 50 comments

Hilaree Nelson, a groundbreaking mountaineer and skier, has died from an avalanche driven fall on Mount Manaslu. She was the first woman to summit two 8000m or higher peaks in a 24 hour period (Everest and the nearby Lhotse), and - along with her partner Jim Morrison - completed the first ski descent of the 27,940-foot Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world, down the insane Lhotse Couloir (video - decent starts around 17:45 in the video) She was National Geographic's Adventurer of the Year in 2018 and they have published a remembrance. [more inside]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 10:37 AM PST - 17 comments

"Hotties! You know how much mental wellness means to me, so I created a hub with resources that can help when you might need a hand. Head to BadBitchesHaveBadDaysToo.com now and check it out. Love y’all so much.” --Megan Thee Stallion. The web site compiles four categories of resources: free therapy organizations, mental health hotlines, resource directories and LGBTQIA+ community resources. Each category features a menu of useful links to external mental health websites, many of which are focused on serving BIPOC and those in the LGBTQIA+ community.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:15 AM PST - 12 comments

Beginning in 1941, Alden Dow carved an entire town, Lake Jackson, Texas, out of a coastal swamp as a grand design experiment in modern, low-cost communal living—for the workers at Dow Chemical’s new magnesium and styrene plants in Freeport and Velasco, built quicky during wartime mobilization with Dow’s purchase of 1,000 acres of resource-rich land in 1940. I say “Dow carved,” but this phrasing belies the complex assemblage of agencies and historical determinants, policies and technics, that were the material conditions of possibility for Lake Jackson. from Development Film, 194X: Alden B. Dow, Lake Jackson, and the Infrastructure of the Petrochemical Good Life by Justus Nieland [more inside]
posted by chavenet at 7:27 AM PST - 8 comments

A promise made. A promise broken. "Absolutely disgusting and pretty much indefensible." Finally, resolution. [more inside]
posted by clawsoon at 5:55 AM PST - 26 comments

Michael Sheen's speech to the Wales football team. MeFi favourite Michael Sheen met up with the Welsh football team at a training camp prior to this year's World Cup in Qatar. In exchange for a shirt and some handshakes, he gave them a few words of encouragement. [more inside]
posted by Hartster at 5:36 AM PST - 15 comments

The 100 Best Songs of 1982. From Rob Sheffield at Rolling Stone. [more inside]
posted by the primroses were over at 5:28 AM PST - 116 comments

"The Tripitaka Koreana - carved on 81258 woodblocks in the 13th century - is the most successful large data transfer over time yet achieved by humankind. 52 million characters of information, transmitted over nearly 8 centuries with zero data loss - an unequalled achievement." (threadreader; previously: 1, 2; also btw 5 things the Western book as we know it depends on[1,2] and How the Trapper Keeper Shaped a Generation of Writers - or Pee-Chees if you please! ;)
posted by kliuless at 1:01 AM PST - 25 comments