September 7, 2017
Magnitude 8.2 Earthquake off Coast of Southern Mexico
The earthquake occurred near Chiapas and is expected to accompany 3m tsunami waves along the coast of Mexico, with smaller waves expected to hit Latin American countries and across the Pacific. Occurring at a depth of 33km, the earthquake was felt hundreds of miles away in Mexico City. Reports are still coming in.
"If it’s serious enough to joke about, then it’s serious."
Emma Healy asks if there is Truth in Jest? -"Louis C.K. would rather ignore those assault rumours, but at this point, he can’t just let his art do the talking." [more inside]
taxonomic vandalism
A Few Bad Scientists Are Threatening to Topple Taxonomy "By the numbers, Hoser is a taxonomy maven. Between 2000 and 2012 alone, Hoser named three-quarters of all new genera and subgenera of snakes; overall, he’s named over 800 taxa, including dozens of snakes and lizards. But prominent taxonomists and other herpetologists—including several interviewed for this piece—say that those numbers are misleading. According to them, Hoser isn’t a prolific scientist at all. What he’s really mastered is a very specific kind of scientific "crime": taxonomic vandalism."
Paging Dr. Dolittle. Bring a microscope.
Wild dog packs vote on whether to go hunting: The "ah-choos" have it. And bacteria use brainlike bursts of electricity to communicate. I, for one, welcome our new biofilm overlords and their democratic canid shock troops.
Triple Plays
A visualization of every triple play in major league history. If you prefer spreadsheets, here's the database from SABR of all 715 plays. Triple plays previously on MetaFilter.
Thursday Candy Review
Review of Jelly Belly's Pet Rat Gummi Candy
Mmm. Geometric kinetic tarts.
Ukrainian pastry chef Dinara Kasko uses her architectural and 3D modelling background to create desserts like geometry the figure, cake "chocolate block", and many others.
Kasko has recently collaborated with Miami-based kinetic artist José Margulis to create
geometrical kinetic tarts.
More of Kasko's work on Instagram.
Putting the fun in fundido since 1900
Queso Is the World’s Most Perfect Food: How the rich, melty cheese dip conquered Tex-Mex in America (Amy McCarthy, Eater) [more inside]
Should you wash your pyjamas every day?
Asks The Guardian, analysing a divisive debate currently gripping the Mumsnet website. Comments include “I just don't like wearing something that has been that close to my bare bum for more than one night” versus “I'm with the mingers. I don't have the time, energy or desire to launder 5 pairs of pjs every night”. Others are also daily changers, while factors include health, and the environment. A poll in The Pool gives widely varying frequency. The Good Housekeeping Institute says once a week - but Cosmopolitan says change frequently. Maybe wear silver or copper jimjams? Complications: British people who go shopping in pyjamas, wear while taking the kids to school, work from home while wearing them, or just generally, though all weekend can be guilt-inducing. Pyjamas or pajamas? [more inside]
They probably think you should eat cake, but you have to pay for it.
The long, winding road to fully automated cars
Automobile automation has been promoted as a boon to safety since 1939, though for much of this time, the plan for vehicle guidance relied on in-road guides, with public demonstrations of wire-guided roads continuing into the late 1990s. As recently as 2014, Volvo promoted the value of embedded magnets in roadways to help with autonomous vehicle guidance. Meanwhile, "self-sufficient" autonomous vehicles have been discussed, and designed, for decades, but it wasn't until DARPA offered millions in three successive contests, starting in 2004, that the autonomous vehicle industry really took off. With hundreds of companies now involved in vehicle automation, the U.S. House of Representatives are trying to standardize and streamline rules governing self-driving cars. [more inside]
a comic book about delivering newspapers and also time travel
Paper Girls is a comic book published by Image Comics. It's written by Brian K. Vaughan, creator of the famous and excellent comics Saga, Y:
The Last Man, and Marvel's Runaways. The art is by Cliff Chiang of Wonder Woman fame. Coloring is by Matt Wilson-- ordinarily a thankless job, but his work here is truly excellent. [more inside]
the "eldritch energies" of whiteness
"The foundation of Donald Trump’s presidency is the negation of Barack Obama’s legacy." Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic on Trump and the history of the denigration of blacks to shore up the social position of (especially, poorer) whites. [more inside]
Bev-Bev-Beverly Hills Cop Axel Foley's gonna find those drugs
RiffShare is a 3-d music sketching platform. Edit, share and play music, with the arrangement converted to a unique URL. [more inside]
Plots of the Everyday
Unendurable Line. "There’s simply no compelling way to describe this unusual short film from director Daihei Shibata which attempts to plot the movement of everyday objects such as a light switch or a spring as a real-time graph. Sibata explains this as a film that expresses “the various thresholds hidden in everyday life.” OK, interesting enough, but when paired with a score by the EX NOVO Chamber Choir—turn up the volume—it suddenly becomes completely amazing. "
HQ2 Coming to a Town Near You
Leslie Van Houten (of Manson Family infamy) may be paroled
Gov. Jerry Brown now has a 120-day period to affirm, reverse or take no action on the decision. In his 2009 book 'Role Models', John Waters included a chapter concerning his relationship with Van Houten that I found very interesting.
Let 'em go, boneface!
This is the way it had to end! With Skeletor triumphant at last! | Bonus video: And now he feels...EPIC
Cycling is like a piece of magic: It only has advantages
Some people are stuck with what they want and can't let go
There is no 19th story. There is no Miss Zarves.
Jia Tolentino on Louis Sachar and his kids books: "It’s high-concept, slightly menacing world-building—Shel Silverstein with hints of Barthelme and Borges. In one chapter of “Sideways Stories,” the children swap names and lose the ability to tell one another apart. In another, a new kid turns out to be a dead rat wearing a dozen raincoats. A ball is tossed up and doesn’t come down; three bald men with briefcases materialize out of the air."
The stars turn, and the time presents itself
Lynch, Time, and Comedy by Elise Moore (Bright Wall/Dark Woom).
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