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I have donated to DonorsChoose website, which connect you to classroom teachers all over the country and their unique little projects for students. But there are practices of the website that I don't know if it's best. Looking for other perspectives and other similar charity organizations. [more inside]
posted by Pantalaimon at 11:06 AM - 9 answers

Are there any notable figures from the fictional world who were actually decent people AND very much in charge of finances? [more inside]
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 6:34 AM - 18 answers

On NPR, there was a story about the organ reawakening ceremony. The organist said that the archbishop would say something like "Organ, holy instrument get up! Awake!" repeated 8 times. I can't find a recording that includes this. Do you know whether or not the imperative came in the tu form or the vous form?
posted by plinth at 7:25 AM - 7 answers

I'm having trouble finding English-language histories of Japan covering the Sixties and onward. I have 1964: The Greatest Year In The History Of Japan and Dissenting Japan: A History of Japanese Radicalism and Counterculture from 1945 to Fukushima in my reading list but am also looking for a broader overview. Something like the Japanese history equivalent of Dominic Sandbrook or David Kynaston's histories of Britain. My preference is for social/cultural history rather than, say, cabinet politicking but I'll take what I can get.
posted by kaisemic at 2:14 PM - 1 answers

I've had a thought in the back of my mind for a long time that we (the US at least) are moving back towards the Gilded Age, and possibly even Victorian England, in terms of levels of inequality and economic stratification coupled with legal oppression of certain groups (in the past, perhaps Catholics; today, perhaps.... a long list of other identities). Has anyone written a kind of "here's what works" retrospective on surviving and thriving in those contexts, with an aim towards guiding people today based on what we know about the past? [more inside]
posted by Number Used Once at 12:10 PM - 6 answers

I'm looking for a nonfiction biography or history book that covers the life of Gracia Mendes Nasi, also known as Beatriz or Beatrice de Luna Miques, a Portuguese Jewish philanthropist and businesswoman in the sixteenth century. [more inside]
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:44 PM - 2 answers

I generally read WaPo, NYTimes, my local paper, AP and Reuters(email updates) for a quick overview, MeFi. I usually read Heather Cox Richardson. Often Joyce Vance and Rebecca Solnit. To deal with the coming times, I'd like another couple of reads - well-documented, reasonable but willing to speak out. Kind of an early warning system for whatever fresh hell is looming. Not podcasts or video. [more inside]
posted by theora55 at 8:41 PM - 20 answers

Like millions of others, I just signed up for BlueSky. Who are your favorite accounts to follow?
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:56 AM - 18 answers

I'd like to provide support, advocacy, and defense to people who are transition or have transitioned. I am going to spend energy volunteering to provide any assistance as an ally to trans people and to the undocumented. I know of a great organization for the undocumented (Casa Cornelia here in San Diego) but not for trans people. I do have a lapsed law degree (but haven't practiced in 25 years) that I could leverage in some small way. Looking for National, California or San Diego organizations to contact.
posted by WatTylerJr at 11:43 AM - 7 answers

I looked for a previous post for this, but the one closest to my ask is ten years old. I'm looking for websites with good writing on current events – not even mostly political, but also pop culture, accessible science-y content, and other stuff I might not even know I'll like... [more inside]
posted by Molasses808 at 8:08 PM - 12 answers

There are plenty of famous examples of ad campaigns explicitly targeting competitors going back a few decades. What are some examples in the modern era, possibly using social media and/or other new forms of attack?
posted by cincinnatus c at 2:48 PM - 19 answers

My family and I are greatly interested in events featuring people who were directly involved with the Civil Rights movement, specifically the fight against segregation and racism. I am keenly aware that time is limited for hearing them speak in person, and I want my kids to be able to meet them and hear their stories. [more inside]
posted by greenmagnet at 1:27 PM - 3 answers

A couple of weeks ago, my old colleague (lets call her M) passed away tragically, and turns out all signs point to spousal abuse and eventual tragedy. We weren't super close, but I was her first manager, and over the years, we ended up working together a lot, with her even managing me at times. She was a pretty big deal in our company eventually. I know that some of my other current and ex colleagues knew her. They may not know about the situation, I am conflicted about letting people know and also pushing for our company to address it. Some details inside [more inside]
posted by sandmanwv at 7:52 AM - 14 answers

I'm trying to get a sense of what the 10-13 year-old age group does on weekends. It's a time that is post- playdate and organized group music classes, but pre-getting a job, making own plans etc. So curious how kids across all nations (not just US) spend this time in their lives.
posted by Toddles at 7:20 AM - 14 answers

I have been writing and brainstorming ideas for a new party, platform, and even Constitution that would appeal to at least 80% of voters. I'm looking for places and ways to collaborate with a few people, preferably with some in-person elements. [more inside]
posted by caviar2d2 at 7:18 AM - 3 answers

I'm trying to find a story published on Clarkes World or tor.com or something similar, in the last ~15 years? A woman protagonist is on an exoplanet, and we become aware that she's being transformed by a parasite from the planet, but her experience of it is expansive and euphoric. I think it explicitly mentions the tongue-eating louse, though I could be misremembering that bit.
posted by german_bight at 6:31 PM - 10 answers

I'm a 40F who upon hearing the election results this week, felt a surge a gratitude about being a spinster. I figure there has to be articles, books, or some type of literature made by fellow spinsters throughout history about their experiences. [more inside]
posted by greatalleycat at 6:04 AM - 12 answers

I am devastated by the results of this election. I live in a red state, which I love, and I am surrounded by people I love who voted for Trump. I have given up trying to understand it. These people are my community. I truly believe they are good, kind, thoughtful people, and they voted for someone who is promising to do a lot of harm to other good, kind people. Any advice for coping? I can't cut them off, they are friends and family. Help.
posted by mareliz at 1:03 PM - 27 answers

We are registered voters in California, residing in Vancouver, BC, Canada. We're thinking of driving down to Bellingham WA to vote tomorrow. Is that possible? How would it work? [more inside]
posted by wutangclan at 12:18 PM - 15 answers

I saw an exhibit on the Impressionists and their immediate artistic successors (e.g., the Nabis) this weekend. It occurred to me that while I've read some basic books on the Impressionists, like Ross King on the decade leading up to Impressionism's birth, I have not read any books on the women Impressionists: Cassat and Morisot for sure, but there was at least one other woman whose paintings appeared in this exhibit. I'd like to fill my TBR for next year with books by and about women, so this seems like a good subject for books. [more inside]
posted by gentlyepigrams at 8:57 PM - 6 answers