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March 7
-------
[Autocracy, Fast and Slow](https://www.metafilter.com/207926/Autocracy-Fast-and-Slow)
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[From Orban to Trump, Part II](https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/from-orban-to-trump-part-ii?utm_source=substack&publication_id=277517&post_id=158545490&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true) With Trump, the other metaphor I keep using, and I forget if I said this in our first conversation, but if you think of the government as being like a fish tank. And all these different fish are swimming around and, you know, maybe it's a little chaotic looking, but sometimes they swim in patterns, but it was a fish tank. And Trump comes in and he's just very visibly sticking a blender into the fish tank, right? And he's making fish soup. And so the problem is that, first of all, everyone can see it. So there is much more pushback, there's much more alarm, including from Republicans and so on. But the second problem is: it's much harder to recover the aquarium when you've made the fish soup, you know? < \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207926/Autocracy-Fast-and-Slow)\]
posted by [subdee](https://www.metafilter.com/user/115730) at 5:41 AM - [1 comment](https://www.metafilter.com/207926/Autocracy-Fast-and-Slow)
[Tasmanian devil gives woman on toilet a big surprise](https://www.metafilter.com/207925/Tasmanian-devil-gives-woman-on-toilet-a-big-surprise)
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Tasmanian devil gives woman on toilet a big surprise. [A snake catcher uses tactics usually reserved for unwanted reptiles after a Tasmanian devil took shelter from pursuing dogs behind a toilet â while a woman was sitting down](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-06/tasmanian-devil-in-womans-bathroom/105015702). No devils or humans or dogs were harmed.
posted by [chariot pulled by cassowaries](https://www.metafilter.com/user/324939) at 5:13 AM - [2 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207925/Tasmanian-devil-gives-woman-on-toilet-a-big-surprise)
[In The Sunshine](https://www.metafilter.com/207924/In-The-Sunshine)
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L.A.'s Jazz-soul vibraphonist Roy Ayers, most known for his influential 1976 hit [Everybody Loves the Sunshine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC9dQOnUyao), has [passed away](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/05/833528769/roy-ayers-whose-everybody-loves-the-sunshine-charmed-generations-dies-at-84) at 84. \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207924/In-The-Sunshine)\]
posted by [2N2222](https://www.metafilter.com/user/87495) at 5:01 AM - [1 comment](https://www.metafilter.com/207924/In-The-Sunshine)
[Southern, courteous, and old-fashioned](https://www.metafilter.com/207923/Southern-courteous-and-old-fashioned)
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I have spent my adult life grateful to [this man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolfe) for loosening and livening up journalism, freeing us from that damned âinverted pyramidâ (which frontloads all the facts in an ugly crush on the assumption that no one will read to the end) and the obligatory ânut graf,â placed early to tell âem what youâre gonna tell âem. He preferred suspense. An elegant trickster, he bent journalism toward the rhythms of literature. Now I am wondering if, in the process, he killed democracy. from [Whoâs Afraid of Tom Wolfe?](https://commonreader.wustl.edu/c/whos-afraid-of-tom-wolfe/) \[The Common Reader\]
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 1:18 AM - [3 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207923/Southern-courteous-and-old-fashioned)
March 6
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[Notes from the human population implosion](https://www.metafilter.com/207922/Notes-from-the-human-population-implosion)
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[âThere is fundamentally no way to do this that doesnât end up treating womenâs bodies as a tool.â](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/03/03/the-population-implosion) Gideon Lewis-Kraus ([p](https://www.metafilter.com/35148/In-the-penthouse-of-the-Ivory-Tower)r[e](https://www.metafilter.com/145150/Longreads-Best-of-2014)v[i](https://www.metafilter.com/138617/No-Exit)o[u](https://www.metafilter.com/163983/Brain-Word-and-Man-Machine)s[l](https://ask.metafilter.com/306347/Non-technical-book-about-neural-networks)y) examines the demographic transition: the decline in childbirth alongside the growing number of elders. A long read, grounded in South Korea's experience.
posted by [doctornemo](https://www.metafilter.com/user/112896) at 7:05 PM - [51 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207922/Notes-from-the-human-population-implosion)
[How to draw a line that is not stupid](https://www.metafilter.com/207921/How-to-draw-a-line-that-is-not-stupid)
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[Anne Carson on writing with Parkinson's:](https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n04/anne-carson/beware-the-man-whose-handwriting-sways-like-a-reed-in-the-wind) "When I was diagnosed with Parkinsonâs disease a symptom particularly mortifying to me was that my handwriting disintegrated. I used to take pleasure in writing in notebooks, shelves of them, day after day, year after year. Now the upright strokes bend or break or go in all directions, vowels shrink to blobs, slant loses its smooth smart angle, it all looks just embarrassing. Or, Barthes would say, stupid. I scrub out whole paragraphs in shame."
posted by [jshttnbm](https://www.metafilter.com/user/297964) at 6:01 PM - [3 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207921/How-to-draw-a-line-that-is-not-stupid)
[Perhaps the most important archaeological discovery in New Zealand history](https://www.metafilter.com/207920/Perhaps-the-most-important-archaeological-discovery-in-New-Zealand-history)
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A waka, or Polynesian voyaging canoe, [has been discovered in the bank of a creek](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cntDYfRNUw) on RÄkohu (Chatham Islands). It is astonishingly complete, with elaborate carvings, obsidian decorations, and even [intact parts of sails and rope](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/04/new-zealand-waka-carved-canoe-discovery-chatham-islands-polynesia). \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207920/Perhaps-the-most-important-archaeological-discovery-in-New-Zealand-history)\]
posted by [tavella](https://www.metafilter.com/user/111261) at 5:56 PM - [10 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207920/Perhaps-the-most-important-archaeological-discovery-in-New-Zealand-history)
[Arial](https://www.metafilter.com/207919/Arial)
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"A contemporary sans serif design, [Arial](https://www.4over4.com/content-hub/stories/the-history-behind-arial-helvetica-ripoff-or-inspired-design) contains more humanist characteristics than many of its predecessors and as such is more in tune with the mood of the last decades of the twentieth century." \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207919/Arial)\]
posted by [Lemkin](https://www.metafilter.com/user/342988) at 5:40 PM - [11 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207919/Arial)
[Their brief moment in the sun foretells our own present darkness](https://www.metafilter.com/207918/Their-brief-moment-in-the-sun-foretells-our-own-present-darkness)
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It begins as a shuffle but soon becomes an unstoppable march. What ska had imbibed from American jazz and R&B was a musical ESP about where to put the emphasis and where to leave some space. It called out for a new way of movingâpicture someone strolling down a city street who suddenly breaks into an agitated, quasi-military trot. Reggae was a slow skank, feeling the earth between your toes; ska was Saturday-night show-out and exuberanceâlean, jangled, calisthenic. Like they did with Northern soul and rockabilly, British youth took this elsewhere music and made it over according to their own exacting style diktats. from [An Unstoppable March](https://harpers.org/archive/2025/03/an-unstoppable-march-ian-penman-2-tone-ska/) \[Harperâs; [ungated](https://archive.is/WwhUq)\]
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 1:59 PM - [5 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207918/Their-brief-moment-in-the-sun-foretells-our-own-present-darkness)
[FiveThirtyEight is no more.](https://www.metafilter.com/207917/FiveThirtyEight-is-no-more)
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ABC shuts down FiveThirtyEight and pulls the plug on its website. The last 15 or so employees of the once influential data aggregator are set to be laid off by Disneyâs ABC News Group, according to [a Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/business/media/disney-to-cut-nearly-6-staff-across-abc-news-disney-entertainment-networks-8af04b40). [(Archive.ph)](https://archive.ph/d4TK9) The main URL already redirects to ABC News.
posted by [DirtyOldTown](https://www.metafilter.com/user/113784) at 11:39 AM - [50 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207917/FiveThirtyEight-is-no-more)
[The Smell of Success](https://www.metafilter.com/207916/The-Smell-of-Success)
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Anosmia, or loss of the sense of smell, is a frequent consequence of COVID-19. Most people recover spontaneously in weeks. However, some do not, and for them anosmia has high impact on quality of life. For the latter there is now hope in a [new treatment: Platelet-rich Plasma.](https://aao-hnsfjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ohn.1149) \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207916/The-Smell-of-Success)\]
posted by [storybored](https://www.metafilter.com/user/29435) at 8:17 AM - [21 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207916/The-Smell-of-Success)
[The decline of letters: Denmark edition](https://www.metafilter.com/207915/The-decline-of-letters-Denmark-edition)
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[BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg8jllq283o): Denmark's state-run postal service, PostNord, is to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025, citing a 90% decline in letter volumes since the start of the century. The decision brings to an end 400 years of the company's letter service. Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear from the start of June. [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/06/danish-postal-service-stop-delivering-letters-drop-numbers): PostNord Denmark will deliver its last letter on 30 December ... The government said it would still be possible to post letters despite the changes. [The Local](https://www.thelocal.dk/20250306/is-it-possible-to-send-letters-in-denmark-without-postnord): Sending letters internationally from Denmark will therefore probably mean using a global courier such as UPS or DHL and sending the letter as part of a small package.
posted by [Wordshore](https://www.metafilter.com/user/156521) at 7:18 AM - [24 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207915/The-decline-of-letters-Denmark-edition)
[Saul Steinberg, yesterday and today](https://www.metafilter.com/207914/Saul-Steinberg-yesterday-and-today)
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[Saul Steinberg, as a figure in American art, is poised to evaporate.](https://www.tcj.com/saul-steinberg-yesterday-and-today/) A specificity or worked out theory of admiration for Steinberg, from the rare few who even bother to profess admiration towards the work, is neglected, because not much is said beyond occasional measured and brief praise. Where is Steinberg in contemporary illustration, art or even culture itself? A stroll through visual America today shows little appetite for Steinberg's thought through line, and his status as a public, albeit graphic, intellectual seems deeply foreign to our times. The mere notion of him: a compressed entity of an idea, a thinking artist in the metropolis, whose mental expressions were tangled, dense and then excreted with a signature perfection. \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207914/Saul-Steinberg-yesterday-and-today)\]
posted by [1970s Antihero](https://www.metafilter.com/user/125102) at 6:47 AM - [16 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207914/Saul-Steinberg-yesterday-and-today)
[WordPerfect](https://www.metafilter.com/207913/WordPerfect)
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It is March 30, 1992. Right Said Fredâs "Iâm Too Sexy" has begun its descent from the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Jonathan Demme's _The Silence of the Lambs_ sweeps the Academy Awards. And WordPerfect Corporation, producer of [the industry-standard word processing software](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordPerfect), fires its Chief Operating Officer. \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207913/WordPerfect)\]
posted by [Lemkin](https://www.metafilter.com/user/342988) at 6:37 AM - [65 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207913/WordPerfect)
[Small ship stuck](https://www.metafilter.com/207912/Small-ship-stuck)
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The [Humber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humber) estuary is a challenging place to navigate. At high tide, its wide expanse of open water conceals a constantly-shifting network of [mudflats](https://alexhyde.photoshelter.com/image/I0000uggTN5nX3kU), through which ships must follow a uniquely twisting, meandering path marked by a series of [floats](https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3590888), to avoid [running](https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/cruiser-rescued-stranded-in-humber-4249579) [aground](https://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Humber-River-Blues-not-going-anywhere-until-Friday-13th-June/-122348). The mud shifts so rapidly that new [charts](https://www.humber.com/Estuary_Information/Marine_Information/Chart_Catalogue/Current_Humber_Charts/) are published every two weeks. [The crew of the _H&S Wisdom_ apparently got it wrong](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjrylxle8pzo), and must now spend the next month sitting on one of those mudbanks. They were assisted by [Humber Rescue](https://www.humber-rescue.co.uk/about), one of the UK's [independent local lifeboats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_lifeboats_in_Britain_and_Ireland).
posted by [automatronic](https://www.metafilter.com/user/218060) at 5:59 AM - [11 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207912/Small-ship-stuck)
[Think ahead](https://www.metafilter.com/207911/Think-ahead)
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Many people struggle to make tradeoffs between present wants and future wishes, resulting in the tendency to overly discount the value of future rewards. To explain such behavior, past work has pointed to future self-continuity or the perceived connection between a personâs current and future selves. Yet, most of this past work has been conducted on small-to-medium size convenience samples, and as such, little is known regarding the population-level statistics of future self-continuity or how its link to important financial health variables like saving behavior and financial well-being play out in a nationally representative sample. Here, we use a nationally representative sample of over 6,000 Americans to investigate the generalizability of future self-continuity and its connection to financial outcomes such as savings behavior and global financial well-being. from [Exploring the distribution and correlates of future self-continuity in a large, nationally representative sample](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/judgment-and-decision-making/article/exploring-the-distribution-and-correlates-of-future-selfcontinuity-in-a-large-nationally-representative-sample/0D97695371182499894E381E30CF9EAE) \[Cambridge University Press\]
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 1:36 AM - [15 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207911/Think-ahead)
March 5
-------
[Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not)](https://www.metafilter.com/207910/Why-Techdirt-Is-Now-A-Democracy-Blog-Whether-We-Like-It-Or-Not)
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When youâve spent years watching how some tech bros break the rules in pursuit of personal and economic power at the expense of safety and user protections, all while wrapping themselves in the flag of âinnovation,â [you get pretty good at spotting the pattern.](https://www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/why-techdirt-is-now-a-democracy-blog-whether-we-like-it-or-not/)
posted by [gottabefunky](https://www.metafilter.com/user/14358) at 9:05 PM - [16 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207910/Why-Techdirt-Is-Now-A-Democracy-Blog-Whether-We-Like-It-Or-Not)
[Captive-bred eastern quolls released into Tasmanian Midlands](https://www.metafilter.com/207909/Captive-bred-eastern-quolls-released-into-Tasmanian-Midlands)
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Endangered eastern quolls released into wild in Tasmanian conservation project. [An ambitious conservation effort to boost declining eastern quoll populations in Tasmania is underway, with 24 of the animals released onto a 5000 hectare property](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-04/eastern-quoll-conservation-project-midlands-tasmania/105002300). Eastern quolls are marsupial carnivores about the size of a small domestic cat, with adult males measuring 53 to 66 cm (21 to 26 in) in total length, including the 20 to 28 cm (7.9 to 11.0 in) tail, and having an average weight of 1.1 kg (2.4 lb). Females are significantly smaller, measuring 48 to 58 cm (19 to 23 in), including a 17 to 24 cm (6.7 to 9.4 in) tail, and weighing around 0.7 kg (1.5 lb).
posted by [chariot pulled by cassowaries](https://www.metafilter.com/user/324939) at 6:04 PM - [12 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207909/Captive-bred-eastern-quolls-released-into-Tasmanian-Midlands)
[Don't forget, Europe's been through all this before.](https://www.metafilter.com/207907/Dont-forget-Europes-been-through-all-this-before)
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[As they politely remind us here, ca 2017, I'm sure we remember why.](https://verfassungsblog.de/the-authoritarian-regime-survival-guide/) As I run into things that might help us all I will try to keep them up here.
posted by [teeleej2003](https://www.metafilter.com/user/341763) at 2:54 PM - [22 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207907/Dont-forget-Europes-been-through-all-this-before)
[What if we just said: no.](https://www.metafilter.com/207906/What-if-we-just-said-no)
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[REI's worker union is asking members to vote "withhold" on all Board candidates](https://www.ourrei.com/2025-rei-board-elections) Unionized employees of REI, a US-based coop store that sells outdoor gear, are asking members to mark â[withhold](https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2025/03/rei-board-blocks-labor-backed-candidates-ballot)â on their ballots after a Seattle activist and a top Greenpeace leader were excluded from the ballot. \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207906/What-if-we-just-said-no)\]
posted by [Toddles](https://www.metafilter.com/user/212189) at 12:56 PM - [48 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207906/What-if-we-just-said-no)
[Truly, it's the video for our times](https://www.metafilter.com/207905/Truly-its-the-video-for-our-times)
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[Cozy Dumpster Fire](https://youtu.be/g15RWjNiBvs) \[via [mefi projects](https://projects.metafilter.com/6344/Cozy-Dumpster-Fire)\]
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 12:55 PM - [12 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207905/Truly-its-the-video-for-our-times)
[Olivetti Industrial Design](https://www.metafilter.com/207904/Olivetti-Industrial-Design)
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[The Timeless Appeal of Olivettiâs Industrial and Minimalist Design Style](https://abduzeedo.com/timeless-appeal-olivettis-industrial-and-minimalist-design-style) \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207904/Olivetti-Industrial-Design)\]
posted by [Lemkin](https://www.metafilter.com/user/342988) at 11:06 AM - [14 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207904/Olivetti-Industrial-Design)
[This Bill Could Make It Legal for AI to Prescribe Medicine](https://www.metafilter.com/207903/This-Bill-Could-Make-It-Legal-for-AI-to-Prescribe-Medicine)
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[The Healthy Technology Act of 2025](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/238/text) would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow AI and machine learning to qualify as practitioners eligible to prescribe drugs if authorized by the state involved and approved, cleared, or authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other purposes. ([MedScape](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/this-bill-could-make-it-legal-ai-prescribe-medicine-2025a1000504))
posted by [mittens](https://www.metafilter.com/user/111523) at 9:20 AM - [62 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207903/This-Bill-Could-Make-It-Legal-for-AI-to-Prescribe-Medicine)
[Itâs a fitting moment to discuss enemy feminisms](https://www.metafilter.com/207902/Its-a-fitting-moment-to-discuss-enemy-feminisms)
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Just as the so-called âsocialism of foolsâ comes from a truncated analysis of capitalism, resulting in national socialism (i.e., fascism), the feminism of fools, if you will, arises from bad materialism, a diagnosis of the sex/gender system that is fatally foreshortened. This leads it to form a wounded attachment to ontological womanhood. The feminism of cisness, for example, has spread like a pogrom. Today, it is unsurprising to find self-described feminists at the forefront of policymaking to deny gender-affirming health care, or to make bathrooms and sports lockers cissexual at all costs, in the name of womenâs rights. from [Feminist Fascisms A conversation with Sophie Lewis](https://thebaffler.com/latest/feminist-fascisms-byron) \[The Baffler; [ungated](https://archive.is/20250304134418/https://thebaffler.com/latest/feminist-fascisms-byron)\]
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 1:54 AM - [64 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207902/Its-a-fitting-moment-to-discuss-enemy-feminisms)
March 4
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[New Australian dinosaurs and the oldest megaraptorid fossils](https://www.metafilter.com/207901/New-Australian-dinosaurs-and-the-oldest-megaraptorid-fossils)
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New Australian dinosaurs and the oldest megaraptorid fossils in the world. [Australiaâs first carcharodontosaur fossils unearthed along Victoriaâs Cretaceous coast](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1074172).
posted by [chariot pulled by cassowaries](https://www.metafilter.com/user/324939) at 8:05 PM - [2 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207901/New-Australian-dinosaurs-and-the-oldest-megaraptorid-fossils)
[voting?](https://www.metafilter.com/207900/voting)
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The SAVE Act, if passed, would represent [substantial barriers to voting](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-act-could-keep-millions-of-transgender-americans-from-voting/) for not only transgender adults but also for more than 140 million Americans who do not have a passport, as well as 21 million Americans who do not have access to their birth certificate or other documentation or the millions of Americans, including 69 million married women, who have changed their legal name \[americanprogress\]
posted by [HearHere](https://www.metafilter.com/user/337430) at 6:00 PM - [66 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207900/voting)
[The Gulf of Unreasoning](https://www.metafilter.com/207899/The-Gulf-of-Unreasoning)
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[Amidst a trade war with American's neighbors and partners](https://abcnews.go.com/Business/trump-tariffs-effect-canada-mexico-china-retaliates/story?id=119417925), and [a crashing economy](https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-china-rates-inflation-72339ddf1ecb65d7815f4bb5272197d7), US President #47 will address a joint session of the US Congress starting at 9p.m. ET ([watch live on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1oCr6apOKs))
posted by [Brandon Blatcher](https://www.metafilter.com/user/17675) at 4:55 PM - [180 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207899/The-Gulf-of-Unreasoning)
[Timeline Cleanse](https://www.metafilter.com/207898/Timeline-Cleanse)
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NHK World presents [A Cat's-Eye View of Japan](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/catseye/), 42 5-minute episodes showing various places in Japan as seen by the cats who live there.
posted by [carrienation](https://www.metafilter.com/user/53601) at 4:48 PM - [6 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207898/Timeline-Cleanse)
[Never gonna give up dancing at the Pink Pony Club](https://www.metafilter.com/207897/Never-gonna-give-up-dancing-at-the-Pink-Pony-Club)
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Because somebody might need this today: [Rick Astley covers Chappell Roan's Pink Pony Club.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vF26QG9he4)
posted by [signal](https://www.metafilter.com/user/11806) at 4:16 PM - [23 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207897/Never-gonna-give-up-dancing-at-the-Pink-Pony-Club)
["We still live in history âand at the mercy of biology."](https://www.metafilter.com/207896/We-still-live-in-history-and-at-the-mercy-of-biology)
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[How Covid Remade America](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/04/opinion/covid-impact-five-years-later.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1U4.0_FW.P-jMfLGxWTBZ&smid=url-share) (David Wallace-Wells, _NYT_ gift, [archive.is](https://archive.is/D8N6p))
posted by [box](https://www.metafilter.com/user/17573) at 2:34 PM - [33 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207896/We-still-live-in-history-and-at-the-mercy-of-biology)
[Thereâs no magic here](https://www.metafilter.com/207895/Theres-no-magic-here)
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What do you do with your unclosed browser tabs? I find that they take up a lot of screen space. So this week I figured out [how to run pong inside mine.](https://eieio.games/blog/running-pong-in-240-browser-tabs/)
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 1:55 PM - [14 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207895/Theres-no-magic-here)
["Tell her I exploded, and tell her it was very sad"](https://www.metafilter.com/207894/Tell-her-I-exploded-and-tell-her-it-was-very-sad)
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[George Lowe, iconic baritone voice of cult TV classic _Space Ghost Coast to Coast_, dead at 67](https://www.avclub.com/george-lowe-space-ghost-died-age-67) \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207894/Tell-her-I-exploded-and-tell-her-it-was-very-sad)\]
posted by [Rhaomi](https://www.metafilter.com/user/62135) at 1:42 PM - [36 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207894/Tell-her-I-exploded-and-tell-her-it-was-very-sad)
[Tom Petty truly belonged among the wildflowers](https://www.metafilter.com/207893/Tom-Petty-truly-belonged-among-the-wildflowers)
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I stumbled across this documentary: [Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free - The Making of Wildflowers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WblnLk387u0), and I can't recommend it highly enough. The insights you get from Tom, the band, and producer Rick Rubin are fascinating. \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207893/Tom-Petty-truly-belonged-among-the-wildflowers)\]
posted by [JonathanB](https://www.metafilter.com/user/180784) at 10:11 AM - [5 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207893/Tom-Petty-truly-belonged-among-the-wildflowers)
[And so it begins](https://www.metafilter.com/207892/And-so-it-begins)
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[The Tariff Wars have started.](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/tariffs-markets-courts-impact-1.7473873) (slCBC) \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207892/And-so-it-begins)\]
posted by [Kitteh](https://www.metafilter.com/user/112463) at 5:18 AM - [591 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207892/And-so-it-begins)
[â](https://www.metafilter.com/207891/)
---------------------------------------
Could [time flow](https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Physicists_detect_signs_of_dual_time_arrows_emerging_from_quantum_interactions_999.html) in both directions rather than just moving forward? A groundbreaking study from the University of Surrey suggests that under certain quantum conditions... \[spacedaily/[nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-87323-x)\]
posted by [HearHere](https://www.metafilter.com/user/337430) at 5:17 AM - [28 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207891/)
[Time is eccentric and unforgiving; at least itâs quite dependable](https://www.metafilter.com/207890/Time-is-eccentric-and-unforgiving-at-least-its-quite-dependable)
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With their uniformity and certainty, calendars feel like periodic tables of time. You can see the last days of the previous month and the first days of the following month at the beginning and end, looking a little embarrassed to be caught in a picture in which they donât belong. But while next yearâs calendar might feel full of promise (who knows what I might be up to on August 7th next year?), the next millenniumâs calendar registers as eerie. I do not know what cataclysms, invasions, and extinctions will have occurred by September 20th, 3025 but I do know that it will fall on a Tuesday. from ["Time" is the Most Common Noun in the English Language](https://www.speculativenonfiction.org/contributions/time-is-the-most-common-noun-in-the-english-language)
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 2:37 AM - [5 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207890/Time-is-eccentric-and-unforgiving-at-least-its-quite-dependable)
March 3
-------
[Robert Bringhurst's "The Elements of Typographic Style"](https://www.metafilter.com/207889/Robert-Bringhursts-The-Elements-of-Typographic-Style)
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[The Elements of Typographic Style](https://archive.org/details/the-elements-of-typographic-style-robert-bringhurst-z-lib.org/mode/1up) _is a book on typography and style by Canadian typographer, poet and translator Robert Bringhurst. ... A history and guide to typography, it has been praised by Hermann Zapf, who said "I wish to see this book become the Typographers' Bible." Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones consider it "the finest book ever written about typography." ... Because of its status as a respected and frequently cited resource, typographers and designers often refer to it simply as_ Bringhurst.[\*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Typographic_Style) \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207889/Robert-Bringhursts-The-Elements-of-Typographic-Style)\]
posted by [Lemkin](https://www.metafilter.com/user/342988) at 8:19 PM - [18 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207889/Robert-Bringhursts-The-Elements-of-Typographic-Style)
[Greater gliders' spectacular recovery after Blue Mountains bushfires](https://www.metafilter.com/207888/Greater-gliders-spectacular-recovery-after-Blue-Mountains-bushfires)
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Greater gliders' spectacular recovery after Blue Mountains bushfires. [The endangered marsupials' population in part of the southern Blue Mountains has increased by 45 per cent since before the fires began in 2019](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-04/greater-glider-population-booms-after-blue-mountain-bushfires/105003914). (Australia).
posted by [chariot pulled by cassowaries](https://www.metafilter.com/user/324939) at 7:36 PM - [2 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207888/Greater-gliders-spectacular-recovery-after-Blue-Mountains-bushfires)
[The world is riddled with maggots](https://www.metafilter.com/207887/The-world-is-riddled-with-maggots)
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[A song by Chumbawamba that isn't Tubthumping](https://youtu.be/OLkPwxcIji0?si=Wgc6-vcIV-TqUxEw) Chumbawamba is often thought of as a one hit wonder, but there's a lot more to them. They're anti-fascist, pro-union, and loved to do protest songs. This one is even more relevant now.
posted by [mike3k](https://www.metafilter.com/user/17536) at 5:40 PM - [28 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207887/The-world-is-riddled-with-maggots)
[The most beautiful invention of all time](https://www.metafilter.com/207886/The-most-beautiful-invention-of-all-time)
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Its design is a chef's kiss. It can scale from love note to embracing the world. And it united countries and continents in the aftermath of war. In this short [SLYT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW_bvB33kBc), mathematician Hannah Fry explains why she adores A4. \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207886/The-most-beautiful-invention-of-all-time)\]
posted by [Thella](https://www.metafilter.com/user/220662) at 5:31 PM - [32 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207886/The-most-beautiful-invention-of-all-time)
["I am quite absurdly in love with him."](https://www.metafilter.com/207885/I-am-quite-absurdly-in-love-with-him)
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[Letters and diaries tell the story of the love between two survivors of the final Scott expedition to the South Pole.](https://magazine.atavist.com/from-antarctica-with-love-terra-nova-scott-south-pole-pennell-atkinson) via the Atavist.
posted by [Well I never](https://www.metafilter.com/user/318139) at 4:47 PM - [7 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207885/I-am-quite-absurdly-in-love-with-him)
[ÂĄSiempre volverĂĄ sano e contente!](https://www.metafilter.com/207884/Siempre-volver-sano-e-contente)
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In the 1970s, the [Mar Chiquita lagoon](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_Chiquita) ([english](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_Chiquita_Lake_\(C%C3%B3rdoba\))), which lies in the province of CĂłrdoba, in central Argentina, swallowed neighboring Miramar. The waters destroyed 102 hotels, 198 homes, 65 businesses, the thermal complex, the casino, and the amphitheater, leaving Miramar on the brink of collapse. The economy was obliterated, and many families chose to leave the city, drastically reducing its population. Those who stayed rebuilt their lives in other parts of Miramar, away from the lagoon ... It wasn't until 2003 that the waters of Laguna Mar Chiquita began to recede, amid the worst drought in decades. The scene was desolate: abandoned structures covered in salt and petrified tree trunks standing crookedly as silent witnesses to what was lost. from [The Return of a Lost City](https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/issue-25/lost-city-argentina) \[The Dial\]
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 1:53 PM - [10 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207884/Siempre-volver-sano-e-contente)
[A world in which corporations controlled all media--set in 2018.](https://www.metafilter.com/207883/A-world-in-which-corporations-controlled-all-media-set-in-2018)
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[The owners eventually decide that \[he was\] getting bigger than the game, and that his popularity as a player is a threat to their control.](https://archive.is/3CS4W) No, this isn't about the [controversial Luka Doncic trade](https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1ik39m5/the_luka_conspiracy_goes_deeper_than_you_thought/)\--it's a look at Norman Jewison's underrated movie [Rollerball](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073631/), which my father took me to see at the Sunnyvale drive-in theater when I was nine years old.
posted by [mecran01](https://www.metafilter.com/user/1047) at 11:30 AM - [28 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207883/A-world-in-which-corporations-controlled-all-media-set-in-2018)
[How do you make a decision? (Weekly Free Thread)](https://www.metafilter.com/207882/How-do-you-make-a-decision-Weekly-Free-Thread)
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[How to master decision making in a world of uncertainty](https://www.theverge.com/ad/596094/how-to-make-good-decisions-in-an-unpredictable-future) What kinds of decisions are you trying to make lately and you don't know what to do about them? Commiserate, ask for advice, or just talk about whatever else is going on for you in this week's free thread.
posted by [jenfullmoon](https://www.metafilter.com/user/37122) at 10:48 AM - [93 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207882/How-do-you-make-a-decision-Weekly-Free-Thread)
[Japanese pencils](https://www.metafilter.com/207881/Japanese-pencils)
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[The golden age of Japanese pencils](https://notes.stlartsupply.com/the-golden-age-of-japanese-pencils-1952-1967/) "It was the summer of 1952, and the executives of Tombow Pencil were about to revolutionize the Japanese pencil industryâor, possibly, fall flat on their faces. Hachiro Ogawa, the son of founder Harunosuke Ogawa, was Tombow's managing director, and he had just finished a years-long project, at enormous cost, to make the best pencil Japan had ever seen." \[[via](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43243716)\]
posted by [dhruva](https://www.metafilter.com/user/19698) at 9:57 AM - [32 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207881/Japanese-pencils)
[Do you know your âpenis ageâ?](https://www.metafilter.com/207880/Do-you-know-your-penis-age)
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[Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/03/do-you-know-your-penis-age-bryan-johnson): Johnson spends a reported $2m (ÂŁ1.6m) a year on project Blueprint, his personal programme aimed at defying the ageing process ... For starters, he goes to bed at 8:30pm every night and takes more than 100 pills a day ... He also eats all his meals before 11am, bathes in LED light, and spends a part of his day sitting on magnets ... Recently Johnson posted his penis data online, comparing it to data from his 19-year-old son Todger Talmage.
posted by [Wordshore](https://www.metafilter.com/user/156521) at 9:49 AM - [91 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207880/Do-you-know-your-penis-age)
[Soft, Strength, Structure](https://www.metafilter.com/207879/Soft-Strength-Structure)
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[The Striking Buildings of Zaha Hadid.](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/zaha-hadid-greatest-works-slideshow) "The Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid became famous for her intensely futuristic architecture characterized by curving façades, sharp angles, and severe materials such as concrete and steel. The structures she designed successfully accomplished what mystifies so many when they observe great architecture: She took the strongest materials in the world and manipulated them to form objects that appear soft and sturdy at the same time."Over the last two decades, her work has been honored by a long list of awards: In 2004 she was the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Prize; in 2010 and 2011 she received the Stirling Prize, a British decoration for excellence in architecture; in 2014 her Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, like an undulating sheet of graph paper, won the Design Museum Design of the Year Award; and in 2016 she became the first woman to win the RIBA Gold Medal. Hadidâs projects, many of which transform depending on the viewerâs perspective, turn architectural convention on its head."[(ungated link)](https://archive.ph/Y7wnB) \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207879/Soft-Strength-Structure)\]
posted by [storybored](https://www.metafilter.com/user/29435) at 8:03 AM - [23 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207879/Soft-Strength-Structure)
[Alive in Kingston, but also Still Alive in Kingston](https://www.metafilter.com/207877/Alive-in-Kingston-but-also-Still-Alive-in-Kingston)
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[Kingston, Ontario filmmaker Jay Middaugh and his love for the city in film.](https://www.liveinkingston.com/) Jay has written and directed two movies set in Kingston; both heavily feature local musicians/bands. His first film, 2017's Live in Kingston, can be watched in its entirety at the link. (I'll also post it in FanFare.) \[[more inside](https://www.metafilter.com/207877/Alive-in-Kingston-but-also-Still-Alive-in-Kingston)\]
posted by [Kitteh](https://www.metafilter.com/user/112463) at 4:55 AM - [10 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207877/Alive-in-Kingston-but-also-Still-Alive-in-Kingston)
[Ding-dong](https://www.metafilter.com/207876/Ding-dong)
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[The Fish Doorbell has been activated again](https://visdeurbel.nl/en/the-fish-doorbell/) ([link to Dutch news website](https://nos.nl/artikel/2558035-visdeurbel-bij-utrechtse-sluis-voor-vijfde-keer-live)) Peek to see if perch wants to pass, and press the bell to permit.
posted by [Stoneshop](https://www.metafilter.com/user/272857) at 4:28 AM - [5 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207876/Ding-dong)
[A blame-the-system impulse](https://www.metafilter.com/207875/A-blame-the-system-impulse)
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On the internet, where thereâs no tone of voice or body language to send signals, using particularly evocative phrases is even more important than normal. _Ugh, Capitalism_ and all its variations are a reliable way to give any statement that oomph, that hit of seriousness. It can signal that youâre one of the Good Guys, one of the people who gets it. from [Ugh, Capitalism](https://www.infinitescroll.us/p/ugh-capitalism) by [Jeremiah Johnson](https://substack.com/@jeremiahjohnson) \[Infinite Scroll\]
posted by [chavenet](https://www.metafilter.com/user/96486) at 1:34 AM - [58 comments](https://www.metafilter.com/207875/A-blame-the-system-impulse)
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US Politics
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Recent [#USPolitics](https://www.metafilter.com/tags/uspolitics) threads:
[The Gulf of Unreasoning](https://www.metafilter.com/207899/The-Gulf-of-Unreasoning)
[Latest Zero Day: CVE-2025-HEGSETH](https://www.metafilter.com/207855/Latest-Zero-Day-CVE-2025-HEGSETH)
["America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.â](https://www.metafilter.com/207834/America-has-no-permanent-friends-or-enemies-only-interests)
[Engineer's Disease\* Writ Large (Which We're All Now Suffering From)](https://www.metafilter.com/207818/Engineers-Disease-Writ-Large-Which-Were-All-Now-Suffering-From)
[Chaos Agent](https://www.metafilter.com/207826/Chaos-Agent)
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New & Noteworthy
----------------
### March 6
MeFi seeks a Poet Laureate to create comments that are aureate To sing praise of worldly beans or the danger of capitalist blue jeans Alas, I can't write poetry so just pretend that you don't know me [and come on inside this MetaTalk post](https://metatalk.metafilter.com/26590/What-rhymes-with-Election-Calling-all-Mefite-poets) (Title of post by some guy named Poe)
### March 5
Letter, legal, or tableoid? Ignore all these paltry choices, friend. A4 is all you truly need, [according to this post by Thella](https://www.metafilter.com/207886/The-most-beautiful-invention-of-all-time). Plus there's a bonus!
### March 4
In the time before computers, writing tools could be considered works of art. So come read dhruva's post about [the golden age of Japanese pencils](https://www.metafilter.com/207881/Japanese-pencils) and discover how true that can be.
### March 3
\[**COMMUNITY**\] You're going to have to make a lot of decisions this week, but lucky for you [this week's Free Thread](https://www.metafilter.com/207882/How-do-you-make-a-decision-Weekly-Free-Thread) is geared towards making all of that easy!
### March 2
\[**COMMUNIT**Y\] Looking for some interesting content to post on MeFi? Then browse through March's LinkMe, [a collection of suggestions to get folks started on making posts](https://www.metafilter.com/207858/The-March-of-Links)!
### March 1
"I built some software that lets me visualize the connections across ingredients as maps." Honestly, if that sentence alone doesnât get you interested enough to click on [web5.0âs MeFi Project titled âFlavor mapsâ](https://transcendent-choux-d1b930.netlify.app/), then I donât know what to say, other than youâre missing out!
### February 28
Itâs morning time (somewhere) and your brain isnât quite ready. It needs a bit of an extended warmup to get full up to speed and the news headlines are too toxic. What do you recommend to get the olâ noggin going? [Member actuallyquite is ready for your recommendations over in Ask MetaFilter](https://ask.metafilter.com/384680/Whats-worth-waking-up-to-on-the-internet), whatchaâ got?
Also in AskMe is [a short question by moonmilk](https://ask.metafilter.com/384674/Can-you-help-me-find-this-cartoon), where the actual creator in question shows up!
### February 27
Ten years ago we were arguing about whether a certain dress was blue or gold, each of certain we were right. Now chavenet has shared a look back at the incident and [what we can learn about it and others when we literally see things differently](https://www.metafilter.com/207814/Why-did-people-disagree-about-the-dress).
### February 26
Sciatrix knows a lot about rodents, and is more than willing to [share a bit of her knowledge](https://www.metafilter.com/207794/Rare-native-mouse-like-dumpling-on-legs-found-in-Blue-Mountains#8691835) about Old World rats and mice!
### February 25
\[**COMMUNITY**\][This week's Free Thread](https://www.metafilter.com/207785/Do-you-name-your-stuff-Its-your-weekly-free-thread) wants to know what you name your stuff!
MeFi Projects is a space for members to toot their own horn and link to something that they have done and wow has member malevolent done a great bit of tootin'! You'll see what we're talking about if you play his [online game Stycraper and build a tower of junk](https://projects.metafilter.com/6359/Styscraper-porcine-physics-game)!
### February 24
Feeling political are you? Well, Jabo has put together [an amazing collection of ways](https://www.metafilter.com/207757/How-you-can-be-active-in-politics-protest-and-resistance) people can participate in the political process, while joannemerriam has [a roundup of over 100 small press books](https://www.metafilter.com/207775/-Small-Press-Roundup-in-Trumps-Honeymoon-Period-) which provide insight and guidance on what to do next. Let's go!
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