~metafilter | Bookmarks (1009)

When Vultures Nearly Disappeared in India, Half a Million People Died, Too, Study Finds. By being nature's clean-up crew, the often maligned birds help prevent the spread of diseases, according to a new study [Smithsonian magazine].

Sokoblox is a fascinating and challenging Pico-8 [previously] game combining classic block puzzles Sokoban and Bloxorz [previously]. Xenpaper is a text-based, in-browser microtonal sequencer. It's difficult to write music with, but it's a surprisingly convenient way to actually listen to the difference between, say, a standard tuned dominant 7th chord and the just-intoned equivalent characteristic of barbershop music.The hidden connection is that Xenpaper is...

Harris campaign reports record-breaking volunteer surge in key swing states. Harris' campaign is transforming big crowds into volunteers on the ground in key swing states. Surge of volunteers makes Harris team bullish on Florida, where GOP still has tight grip. There's a lot of work to do. It can feel good to join in, even if you only have a little bit of time...

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Independent Publishers Group (IPG) have announced a groundbreaking agreement that will allow libraries to purchase ebooks under the aegis of the IPG instead of renting them at eye-watering prices.While this agreement will only cover publishers in the IPG, it sets a precedent that will hopefully inspire similar agreements.

Thousands of Taylor Swift fans flooded museums in Vienna over the weekend after multiple institutions waived entry fees after three of the singer's concerts were cancelled due to security threats.(...)The Albertina fully embraced the moment, waiving its €19.90 regular entrance fee (€15.90 for visitors under 26 years) for more than 20,000 Swifties between Thursday, August 8 and Sunday, August 11. "On a normal and...

Two short fantasy stories about journeys, meant to provide care, that go in unexpected directions. "Median" by Kelly Robson (published March 2024 in Reactor (formerly Tor.com)): a horror story in which "a professional caregiver's commute takes an unsettling detour when car trouble forces her to pull over on the highway, where she begins receiving distressing phone calls from strangers..." (Via Jason Sanford who said...

United Auto Workers files federal labor charges against Trump, Musk (WaPo) After Trump said, in an interview with Musk, "You walk in, you say, 'You want to quit?' They go on strike. I won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike, and you say, 'That's okay. You're all gone. You're all gone. So, every one of you is gone.'" In...

Keep track of all the counties you've visited in the USA, Canada, and more: "The rules are simple: you visit a county, then you count it. To visit a county, just cross the plane of the county line." Similar to USA County Highpointing's site (MeFi post), mob-rule.com's design still feels like when it was created: way back in the 00s. Generates pretty maps (like...

As instructors struggle to meet the complex needs of students, schools are leaving both to fend for themselves. (slTheWalrus)

"Like watching a soap opera": The splendid social life of Australia's bluest bird. They may seem like just a beautiful blue bird, but under the surface the social dynamics of the splendid fairy-wren is anything but simple.

So youth in English-speaking Canada are becoming sadder faster than those in French-speaking Canada, and measures of teen suicidality are rising in the Anglosphere but less so in similar less-English-speaking countries. What's the deal with Anglosphere despair? from America's Top Export May Be Anxiety [The Atlantic; ungated] [CW: suicide, depression]

Pop has moved on. Someone needs to tell Katy Perry. Katy Perry's latest two singles have been utter flops, falling off the radar within days. We all loved Hot n Cold but it ain't 2008 no more and pop has drastically moved on.Single#1:Woman's Word an entirely bland, toothless "rah rah women" anthem-wanna-be with a video that Katy later explained was satire but it is...

Interactive map of the locations of horror movies by afloweroutofstone.Red is killer/slasher/psychological Blue is monster/creature Yellow is ghost/spirit/demon Green is alien Black is zombies Purple is vampires

South Australian app helps people find conversation-friendly restaurants. Have you ever struggled to hear a conversation over the din of a lively restaurant? For people with auditory processing issues or hearing loss, socialising in loud restaurants creates significant challenges — but an Adelaide audiologist hopes her app will help match people with acoustically-friendly venues.

2024's Hugo Award winners have been announced. Complete voting statistics and a report from the Hugo administrators are available as PDFs. The video of the award ceremony is currently online without a live feed, so the ceremony begins at around -01:52:00 and a short presentation by John Scalzi begins at -01:48:00. Also this weekend, Los Angeles was selected to be the site of Worldcon...

Bhutan's Kinzang Lhamo, who was her nation's flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony, filled her promise to finish an Olympic marathon. She was the final finisher, in 80th place, with a time of 3 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. Hundreds of fans walked, biked and ran beside her in the final few kilometers in support of her effort. Thousands of fans also remained...

Everyone's favorite mystery text, the Voynich Manuscript, is finally getting careful attention from leading medievalists The Voynich Manuscript (previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, and previously) is a mysterious 15th century text held at Yale's Beineke Library. Despite the efforts of generations of scholars, nobody has yet been able to to deceipher its alphabet and figure out just what it's about. The manuscript has become...

Military attack on drug dealers, close the border, deport millions of people. What could possibly go wrong? Some details about what could go wrong as result of interlocking bad policy. Mexico is a major trading partner these days.

NINA mortgage and a decade of work turn into an actual place and business. There's an accordion. It's in Arkansas. It also sounds like what I would like Hallmark romcom movies to be.

"And it wasn't until we had a meeting with representatives from the Comics Buyer's Guide that we had to decide whether we were going to do a free comic book day at all. Maggie Thompson was there, John Jackson Miller – the editor – was there, executives from Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse were all there. The team from Diamond Comics was there. And...

"Welcome! To the MS-DOS 5.0 upgrade training!" (5 minutes; warning: old software ad, white guy rap, severe cringe)Notice, the disks depicted in the video are 5 1/4" floppies.

Marset's odyssey reads like a transnational caper, bordering on the absurd. But it is a startling window into the level of impunity at the nexus of Latin American public life and the lower rungs of professional soccer, enabling drug traffickers to wield enormous influence in both worlds. Years after a global manhunt for him began, Marset remains at large. from A double life: The...