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My main interface with the world is news media and Mastodon. The narratives presented there are dire. Inevitable climate disaster. Global authoritarianism. Societal breakdown. How can I convince myself there are 80% odds the rest of my life will be bearable? [more inside]
posted by anonymous at 5:11 AM - 32 answers

I have several Sci-Fi/Fantasy book ideas floating around in my head. If I was a writer, I'd write them. I am not. I am hoping someone else had similar ideas so I can buy their book/story/comic/manga/whatever (or just read it if it's published non-commercially) [more inside]
posted by Hactar at 3:48 AM - 17 answers

I’m trying to reduce sugar, simple starches, and processed food. I’m good with cooking and snacks at home. But sometimes I want to meet friends for lunch or “let’s meet for coffee” in the afternoon. What are some ways to approach these scenarios? [more inside]
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 2:23 PM - 17 answers

I'm going to be leading an informal discussion on diversity in the entertainment field. But I want to avoid DEI buzzwords. What articles/commentary have you seen that use fresh language to talk about this topic? [more inside]
posted by storybored at 9:31 PM - 3 answers

Quite a while ago, I read a news story where the mayor if a California (I think) town was planning on shuttering the public library. Inmates at a nearby prison, where the librarians did literacy outreach raised money and shamed the mayor into reversing his decision. This would have been 10-ish years ago to my recollection, and I thought I may have seen it on the Blue, but none of my searches have shown anything, so maybe it was a librarian's site? So, can you provide useful details, of must I assume that I dreamed it?
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:19 AM - 2 answers

I'm thinking of buying a membership for the 2024 worldcon in Glasgow, given how close it is to Edinburgh (where I live) by train and that it would get me away from the Fringe for a bit. However, I really don't know what to expect and what I would look to do. [more inside]
posted by Hactar at 9:14 AM - 5 answers

While moving my parents to their new house, I came across an old beer stein with an inscription that has puzzled me since I was a teenager (oh, so many years ago.) The inscription reads: [more inside]
posted by dono at 8:08 AM - 4 answers

I'm exploring older cinema and watching flicks that have defined their genres - like the first vampire movies, first zombie movies, first mystery movies, etc. Can you please recommend old movies that are genre classics or really well made but don't give me a misogyny/racism ick? I had planned to see some film noir or neo-noir classics, but I'm getting icked out just reading the synopses or looking at the posters. Many thanks!
posted by luminary at 5:43 AM - 23 answers

My husband and our 13 yr old daughter and I are traveling in Central Europe (from Australia). We would love to get suggestions for fun things for us & our daughter to do in Vienna, Prague, Budapest & Berlin. Specifics within! [more inside]
posted by beccyjoe at 6:02 AM - 19 answers

I'm looking for books or journal articles about Colombia's armed conflict written after 2016, preferably by Colombian or Latin American authors, but not a requirement. An English translation of the Truth Commission's Final Report would also be excellent. My Googling mainly turned up books written before 2015, or books written in Spanish without an available translation.
posted by spacebologna at 7:46 PM - 1 answers

I'm on the neighborhood board in a mid-size (500,000+) U.S. city that, like many, has undergone major demographic shifts in recent years. Key among them, lots of large apartment buildings sprouting up, filled with childless folks age 20-35, many transplants to the city. I'm looking for suggestions on community engagement, w/ print vs. digital question within. [more inside]
posted by falcon42 at 11:20 AM - 8 answers

I'd like to learn more about the history of what is now Pakistan - and I'd also like to understand better how people living there relate to that history in the context of Partition. [more inside]
posted by quacks like a duck at 2:04 PM - 7 answers

Looking for light, fun reading or movies about your average person friending / dating a famous person. You know, since it's never going to happen to me in real life! And perhaps real stories would be great to read too. Or tell me about how you went to high school with XXXX!
posted by HeyAllie at 6:16 AM - 27 answers

When someone asks me "what was the first major news story you remember", my default answer is Princess Diana's death (I'm in my early 30s). I remember exactly where I was and my parents having to explain what happened. However, I remember the early media coverage of JonBenet Ramsey's death very well (which scared me as a child, especially since she was so close to me in age). Yet it couldn't have been a national news story on Christmas Day 1996. When did the story gain traction in the news (national and worldwide) and become a "household name"?
posted by Seeking Direction at 9:02 PM - 11 answers

Any great roundups or even just links of all that may have been missed in this last glorious year? [more inside]
posted by notdanielmendelson at 1:17 PM - 5 answers

I love unscripted Korean reality mental strategy game TV shows. Does anyone know a reputable place to stream "The Genius Game"? [more inside]
posted by ichimunki at 12:05 PM - 3 answers

In watching movies from that era where seemingly a majority of people smoke, I struggle with understanding what the general attitudes were towards the practice. [more inside]
posted by Jon44 at 7:17 AM - 58 answers

Before the availability of reliable and accessible clocks and watches, how did people in societies in very high latitudes (where the summer sun is all day and the same for the winter night) self-manage time? How did they decide ‘time to get up’, ‘time to go to work’, ‘time to go to sleep’ etc.?
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:07 PM - 7 answers

...but nobody else (at least, who doesn't know that country's culture very well) would [more inside]
posted by wooh at 7:23 AM - 53 answers

Help! An artist friend is working on a mural in Pomona, CA depicting a number of civil rights leaders. He is painting a version of this photo (he has the rights) of Dr. King, John Lewis, and Dr. Jessie Lewis marching at the U of Alabama. He wants to know what is the book (pamphlet) both Mr. Lewis and Dr. Jessie Douglass have under their arms. Any ideas?
posted by pantarei70 at 6:26 PM - 8 answers