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one of my favorite non-fiction books of the past few years is "salt: a world history." recommend to me books in that vein that i will love just as much!
posted by megan_magnolia at 5:54 PM - 39 answers

Someone mentioned this song in one of the threads related to the sea shanty trend. I love it dearly and fondly remember one of my Russian teachers in St. Petersburg teaching us to sing it while he played the guitar. All I can find on youtube is grandiose versions (ie. Red Army Choir) but I'd love some versions with just a person singing along with a guitar or piano. And some casual (but spirited of course) versions of people singing in a group with great harmonies. Please set me on the right track? [more inside]
posted by kitcat at 1:08 PM - 4 answers

Help me find more jazz/hip-hop fusion-ish songs to play in the waiting/downtime before zoom meetings? [more inside]
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 9:45 AM - 21 answers

I'm contemplating a movie or book idea where the genre would fall somewhere between Thriller and Horror with the lead being a pair of African American twin females. I've seen "Ma" as an example but no other movies come to mind. Could this premise even exist elsewhere? Could it work?
posted by The_imp_inimpossible at 9:35 AM - 15 answers

I'm looking for recommendations for a place to take some old disposable cameras for developing. I'd like to find someone with a focus on or experience with damaged film, that will be mindful of preserving the images within. [more inside]
posted by ApathyGirl at 1:27 PM - 6 answers

I write poems (often presented as spoken word) that are comprised of lyrics from 90's songs. Right now I'm working on one based off the worst songs. I've read a lot of listicles, but it's usually the same ones over and over. (Listed those below the fold.) What other songs are worthy of inclusion, either according to you or a site you link to? [more inside]
posted by mermaidcafe at 5:39 AM - 82 answers

What's your favorite Jazz / Blues documentary? ++ if narrated with gravelly quotes with lots of jazz slang!! [more inside]
posted by bbqturtle at 5:19 AM - 3 answers

In the TV show Wellington Paranormal, the police wear a badge with a coat of arms. I presume the animal on the right is a moa, but what's the dragonish thing on the left?
posted by pompomtom at 2:59 AM - 13 answers

Audio engineers, a little help? I'm doing tech support for a small folk music organization that's running some live streamed concerts, and I'm trying to figure out if there's a magic compression setting that will help with the scenario where a band has a single microphone, most likely a LDC, that they're using both for their music and for introducing songs. Is there anything I can do to make their speech louder without making the music sound awful? [more inside]
posted by hades at 1:24 AM - 6 answers

What action/adventure/heist/fast paced/exciting movies can I watch to keep me going while working out on my home rowing machine? Within the extreme constraints of these genres, I'm looking to maximize feminist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist messaging and minimize torture, misogyny and xenophobia. Basically, I want something exciting and distracting but I don't want to watch Rambo. Ideally streaming on Netflix, Hulu or (lol) Criterion. Open to non-Hollywood/international movies. (Expanding my previous ask for feminist action movies.)
posted by latkes at 2:44 PM - 18 answers

My favorite jokes are elephant jokes. I especially like the ones where elephants talk ("Look buddy, I'm not the same elephant") and the ones with bad puns (what's grey and has a trunk and sings jazz?). This has been a lousy year and a lousy first month of 2021 and I would like to hear more funny elephant jokes. [more inside]
posted by Mchelly at 12:44 PM - 47 answers

What kind of guitar should I buy? I'm a semi-beginner who just likes to play around, and occasionally make some crunchy noises. [more inside]
posted by Bucket o' Heads at 8:03 AM - 17 answers

I'm currently going back and listening to the Slow Burn season about the Clinton impeachment, and it's scratching an itch I've had occasionally. I'd like to find some other media that scratches that itch. [more inside]
posted by kevinbelt at 7:12 PM - 15 answers

My creative writing process has been pretty derailed by screen burnout during Covidtimes. I want to shift gears and write it out longhand but am having a bit of trouble imagining a good set-up for doing so. I'd like to have some kind of system for organizing both the actual draft and things like outlines, character notes, worldbuilding notes and am looking for examples and suggestions of both physical things (like maybe some sweet Trapper Keeper kinda deal) as well as organizational systems that other novelists use (like maybe bullet journal style tools and frameworks for writing novels long hand). Open to blog posts, videos, essays, books, etc.
posted by overglow at 12:39 PM - 5 answers

Where can I find an ebook that contains the Frederick Pohl story "Wapshot's Demon?" It's a story I read as a child and I want to give it another read.
posted by drezdn at 8:37 AM - 5 answers

Recommend me Mad Scientist stories you have read. More details inside: [more inside]
posted by vacapinta at 5:59 AM - 7 answers

What are your favorite absorbing and family-friendly documentaries (movies or series) of the last few years? [more inside]
posted by wenestvedt at 6:21 PM - 37 answers

Looking for non-dramatic movies for sensitive 8-11 yr olds. [more inside]
posted by sol at 10:58 AM - 40 answers

I only have this fragment. Would love to know what it is!
posted by DMelanogaster at 7:36 AM - 3 answers

I have a 1920s lithograph poster I would like to have linen-backed and ~possibly~ restored. The most obvious NYC business doing this (posterfix) has very sketchy reviews so I would like some recommendations (or anti-recommendations) from people who have used other services.
posted by beerbajay at 5:09 PM - 4 answers