w

Auf der Insel der Zwergpinguine

Auf Stewart Island leben die kleinsten Pinguine der Welt. Kaum scheu, brüten sie manchmal sogar unter Häusern. Beobachten lässt sich auf Neuseelands drittgrößter Insel aber noch ein weiteres ungewöhnliches Tier.




w

Einsam unterwegs in deutschen Wäldern

Es gibt wilde Wälder in Deutschland, in denen man nur selten einer Menschenseele begegnet. Sie sind ideal zum Abstandhalten und zum Beobachten scheuer Tiere. Wir geben fünf Empfehlungen – von Niedersachsen bis Baden-Württemberg.




w

Adelaide – das hippste Großstadtdorf der Welt

Vor zehn Jahren galt Adelaide noch als langweilig. Doch längst herrscht Aufbruchsstimmung in Südaustraliens größter Stadt. Eine wachsende Kreativszene, coole Läden und günstige Mieten ziehen viele junge Menschen an.




w

Die Weltreise geht weiter – trotz Coronavirus

Zunächst sah sich unser Autor auf seiner Weltreise durch die Pandemie kaum beeinträchtigt. Doch irgendwann bekam auch er Angst. Denn mancherorts in Asien gibt es Tipps gegen das Coronavirus, die kaum beruhigen.




w

Der Sommerurlaub fällt aus. Wir müssen jetzt radikal umdenken

Wir müssen uns vorerst von der Hoffnung verabschieden, weit weg zu fahren, um den Alltag und alles Negative hinter uns zu lassen. Was macht das mit uns? Wie können wir uns trotzdem erholen? Eine Psychologin gibt Tipps.




w

Weltweite Reisewarnung ist bis Mitte Juni verlängert

Außenminister Heiko Maas gibt keine Prognose für die Reisesaison im Sommer. Die Bundesregierung kann nach wie vor „kein sorgenloses Reisen“ empfehlen, so Maas und begründete damit die Verlängerung der weltweiten Reisewarnung bis zum 14. Juni.




w

So erklärt Maas die Verlängerung der weltweiten Reisewarnung

Den Osterurlaub hat das Coronavirus bereits auf dem Gewissen. Nun muss auch der Pfingsturlaub dran glauben. Zumindest was Auslandsreisen angeht. Dabei äußert sich der Außenminister auch eindeutig zu Rückholaktionen.




w

Eine Reise durch die eigene Wohnung

Wer wegen der Corona-Krise seit Wochen kaum das Haus verlässt, erblickt nur noch wenig Neues. Was aber sieht man wirklich noch? Jetzt ist es an der Zeit, sein Reich in den eigenen vier Wänden neu zu entdecken.




w

Das alte China lebt – in Taiwan

Taiwan hat sich nicht nur bei der Corona-Bekämpfung bestens geschlagen, das Land hat auch alles, was ein Reiseziel braucht. Auf der Insel findet man noch traditionelle chinesische Kultur und eine atemberaubende Natur.




w

Nichts wie raus, und zwar jeden Tag!

Momentan ist unser aller Bewegungsfreiheit stark eingeschränkt. Doch Gehen ist erlaubt – und hilft. Wer dazu auch gerne lange Wanderungen macht, hat es nach Ansicht unserer Autorin momentan gar noch leichter.




w

Warum es weltweit so viele Schweizen gibt

Die Eidgenossenschaft ist ein Exportschlager: Von Europa über Afrika und Asien bis Amerika tragen mehr als 100 Landschaften die „Schweiz“ im Namen. In Bern hat ein Künstler die „Auslandsschweizen“ zusammengeführt.




w

Mutige Pionierinnen auf Weltreise

Abenteurerinnen, Entdeckerinnen, Flaneusen: Die Geschichte ist voll von Frauen, die nichts zu Hause hielt und hält. Dabei mussten sie alle gegen Vorurteile kämpfen und gesellschaftliche Grenzen überwinden.




w

Dubspot Radio Rewind: J.Pennyworth + Exclusive Interview

Dubspot Radio Podcast revisits an exclusive interview and chill mix selection recorded live by a Dubspot student known as J.Pennyworth.

/files/2014/09/J_Pennyworth_Thumb.jpg

The post Dubspot Radio Rewind: J.Pennyworth + Exclusive Interview appeared first on Dubspot Blog.




w

5 Websites That Offer Professional Quality Sample Libraries

Five great websites that offer a variety of professional quality sample libraries and audio tools suited for any type of project or genre.

/files/2017/01/Audio-Sample-Websites-Thumb.jpg

The post 5 Websites That Offer Professional Quality Sample Libraries appeared first on Dubspot Blog.




w

Music Theory Tutorial: Working with Scales

Multitalented musician Michael Emenau examines some of the benefits and pitfalls of using musical scales and offers some creative practices for using them.

/files/2013/11/11142013_Scales_thumb1.jpg

The post Music Theory Tutorial: Working with Scales appeared first on Dubspot Blog.




w

NI Maschine 2.6 Software Update

Native Instruments releases Maschine 2.6 update packed with some impressive new functions and improvements loyal users will appreciate.

/files/2017/02/NI_MASCHINE-2-6-Thumb.jpg

The post NI Maschine 2.6 Software Update appeared first on Dubspot Blog.




w

Dubspot Winter Sale Extended: Enroll Today!

Dubspot's Winter Sale offers new students 15% off all courses and returning students 25% off until March 13th at midnight EST. Enroll Today!

/files/2017/02/2017-Winter-Sale-Thumb.jpg

The post Dubspot Winter Sale Extended: Enroll Today! appeared first on Dubspot Blog.





w

Universal Audio Releases UAD v9.1 + New Plugins

Universal Audio releases UAD Software v9.1 along with five new plugins for Apollo Audio Interfaces and UAD Accelerators.

/files/2017/03/UAD-9-1-Thumb.jpg

The post Universal Audio Releases UAD v9.1 + New Plugins appeared first on Dubspot Blog.




w

Universal Audio Releases UAD v9.2 + New Plugins

Universal Audio releases UAD Software v9.2 along with five new plugins for Apollo Audio Interfaces and UAD Accelerators.

/files/2017/05/UAD_v92_Thumb.jpg

The post Universal Audio Releases UAD v9.2 + New Plugins appeared first on Dubspot Blog.




w

Worshiping the Lord

'Excellence must always be a goal in worship. Praises must come from the heart and be expressed in the best way so that people will be spiritually uplifted. Striving to achieve a balance between joy and reverence is crucial for adoring, praising, and worshiping our Creator.'



  • Ezra and Nehemiah

w

Dealing With Bad Decisions

'The Bible gives us formulas for practices that will keep us grounded in God and are designed to maximize our happiness. What can we do to seek to keep faith alive in our homes and families, even if we have made wrong decisions in the past?'



  • Ezra and Nehemiah

w

Jesus and the Apostles’ View of the Bible

'Jesus taught His disciples obedience to the Word of God and the law. There is never a hint of Him doubting the authority or relevance of Scripture. On the contrary, He constantly referred to it as the source of divine authority. '



  • How to Interpret Scripture

w

Why Is Interpretation Needed?

'If we approach and interpret the Bible wrongly, we will likely come to false conclusions, not just in the understanding of salvation but in everything else that the Bible teaches.'



  • How to Interpret Scripture

w

Metatalktail Hour: idle wikipedia stroll

Happy weekend, Mefites! I'm in search of some nice things to idly think about that aren't in my immediate view. I'd like to see a wikipedia page you like, of something that isn't in your home.

As always this is just a conversation starter not a limiter; let us know how things are with you, what media are you enjoying, etc. Just no politics please.




w

What's eatin', you?

You know what's weird right now? Besides, like, everything? Food. Lots of routines are disrupted, lots of supply lines and food-sourcing habits have gotten all sideways. So: what's going on with your fooding? How's the whole eating thing? Any happy discoveries or rediscoveries? Any weird surprises? Any big shortage headaches? Any horrible cooking failures? Snacking surprises? Foodly frustrations? Can you buy literally any yeast? Get it out, let's talk all kinds of food stuff, let's do a whole roundup of where everybody's at.




w

Server move and downtime

In order to move MetaFilter to a new server*, the site will be offline between 22:00 and 01:00 PDT Thursday evening.

The moderator e-mail (via admin@mefi.us) will still be working during this time.

In other time zones:


EDT: 01:00-04:00
BST: 05:00-09:00
CEDT: 07:00-10:00
IST: 10:00-13:30
CST: 13:00-16:00
AEDT: 16:00-19:00

* More specifically, a new AWS account. (closed)




w

Metatalktail Hour: what's growing?

Happy weekend, Mefites! This weekend jessamyn says: What's growing? Your garden? Your kids? Your hair? Your aggravation at your friends and neighbors? Your "What I'm gonna do when this is over" list? Your dream journal. Let's talk about growth!

As always this is a conversation starter, not limiter; feel free to let us know about non-growth things that're on your mind too. Just no politics please.




w

Server move and downtime, take 2

In a second attempt at moving MetaFilter to a new AWS account, the site will be offline between 22:00 and 01:00 PDT Sunday evening.

The moderator e-mail (via admin@mefi.us) will still be working during this time.

In other time zones:


GMT: 05:00-08:00
EDT: 01:00-04:00
BST: 06:00-09:00
CEDT: 07:00-10:00
IST: 10:30-13:30
CST: 13:00-16:00
AET: 15:00-18:00

(hopefully these are all correct this time)




w

paywalled article for fpp

I was thinking about making an fpp about how Whole Foods is using a "heat map" of factors to try and prevent unionization. The article is behind a paywall at Business Insider I read it on an archive site. Is there a way to make post that people can read ethically?




w

By amtho in "cats vs robot feeder: what's the next step?" on Ask MeFi

I have successfully eliminated feeding time drama. I will tell you how.

But first - if you're willing to make a small screw hole in the pantry door, you can get an inexpensive metal latch hook that will improve that part of your system. If that won't work, you can find another way to keep that door securely closed. If you get stuck, just use your second AskMe question. You should be able to solve this problem :)

If you can't, well, it doesn't sound like you're getting a ton of help from the robot. Would it be just as easy to store the food in an air-tight container and serve whenever you feel like it?

Now - here's how I got my round little foster cat to stop harassing us for food:

I convinced her that I was not responsible for deciding when to feed her. I had an old phone with a distinctive, not-unpleasant alarm sound (harp glissando), set the alarm for her feeding times, and made a huge show about hearing the alarm sound, running over to it (to shut it off), and feeding her exactly then. It was clear that I was controlled by the harp sound. She made the connection very quickly, and would go sit and watch the sound/alarm system when it was close to meal times. My life improved. Safety improved (no cat weaving around my ankles). My estimation of my own cleverness improved also :)




w

By Dee Xtrovert in "Where to buy emergency kit items and water rations in Canada?" on Ask MeFi

People tend to overthink this, and I am speaking from real experience. Just keep the requisite number of gallons of water you'd use in the timespan for which you're planning and change them every couple of years, just for the sake of doing it. They'll last for eons in reality.

In an emergency, water's great, but in a longer-term bad situation, it falls pretty far down the list. Unless you're in an unusually arid place, a means to obtain the water necessary to live (maybe not to shower, run the dishwasher or laundry though) will make itself known. And you'd never store enough to matter for *that* long, while a few gallons of cooking oil or a bag of salt would make you a local hero for a long, long time.

What people tend to really wish they'd planned for, but don't:

1) cooking oil
2) toilet paper, paper towels
3) spices, herbs, pepper and salt
4) sugar, chocolate (especially for its fat), candy, honey
5) soap, shampoo, cleaning products
6) seeds for easy-to-grow stuff
7) vitamins
8) if you can keep a couple of hens, you won't regret it.

Nothing's as tradeable (relative to effort) as eggs!

Aside from the last three, these things can be stored for a long, long time. And in reality, #6 and #7 would be good for a few years.

I am a Sarajevan who lived during the siege with no heat, electricity, water, phone (etc) for the most of a three-year period. What's on the list above is what I was almost always missing. We got "dry" food packages from various sources. These tended to be Truman eggs (good for a little protein, but thats about it), macaroni, rice, powder potatoes, Vietnam-era "biscuits" - supposedly with vitamins, but these were from the late 1960s and of dubious nutritional value.

What was missing was: fat, protein, flavor and variety. Boiling was the only way to cook things, due to lack of any cooking oils. To fry something was a rare miracle - even if you were frying reconstituted potatoes from powder. And to have a little pepper or salt was nirvana.




w

By sevenyearlurk in "So how's that work from home working out for you at home?" on MeFi

My work has been doing mandatory, camera-on videoconference "socials" every Friday -- scheduled at 4pm just to twist the knife. I hate them so much and finally told my manager I'm not going to attend anymore. People seem to think that because we're working from home, they're free to push on the boundaries between work life and private life in a way that is super uncomfortable for me and it has definitely been adding to my COVID stress in isolation.




w

By teremala in "My cat died at home. What do I do?" on Ask MeFi

If your location is correct, the Humane Society will do the communual cremation for $35 and there's a campus in your city. If that's too much but you can get her there, I'll cover it. If group cremation isn't the correct choice for you for this pet, however, no pressure.




w

By rikschell in "Third quarter phenomenon: the bacon wars" on MeFi

I've found that about two-thirds of the way through any large knitting or crochet project, most stitchers get bored and antsy and often start a new project instead of finishing, so I'm familiar with this type of thing in another context. But I think anyone who thinks we're in the third quarter of this situation now has another think coming.




w

By zebra in "Aw poop (COVID-19 and public bathrooms)" on MeFi

Many trans people have never been able to trust or access public toilets, even if they are present and unoccupied, and excluding trans people from bathroom use is currently a mainstream political stance. I was disappointed to see this not addressed in the article. I'll continue to hope (while also cynically doubting, I contain multitudes) that we will use the societal changes required by the pandemic to benefit everyone, rather than re-creating the previous dysfunction.




w

By mochapickle in "What do you do while waiting for a potentially terminal diagnosis?" on Ask MeFi

I have a health condition with a high mortality rate, where about one quarter of us die within the first year, and two-thirds of us don't last five years. I'm on Year 4 now and I'm doing okay, and I'm thankful to be receiving excellent care, and I'm generally optimistic that I'll get to stick around for a while.

Ramping up to my diagnosis, I thought my life was over. And that was both utterly untrue and completely true at the same time. You can't really know what it's like until you have the actual diagnosis, and even then it's been a world of surprises. You may or may not be able to do some of the things you would like to do.

For me to deal with it in a healthy way, I kind of had to create a hard line in the sand. I had to take time to grieve the person I'd been before falling ill, take stock of my accomplishments, and most importantly, I had to REALIZE MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS WERE ENOUGH for my lifetime. If I'd been hit by a bus, my life would have been over in a snap, and whatever I'd accomplished by that point would have had to be enough. Taking that pressure off myself was the kindest thing I could do for myself.

I found I had to let a lot of things go and not compare Previous Me to Sick Me. Previous Me was active, enjoyed travel, able to hold down complex and interesting work. Sick Me can't do much of that, but Sick Me does pretty okay for a sick person, and Sick Me does so much more than Dead Me could possibly do! Seriously, compared to Dead Me, Sick Me is a total winner. Sick Me can do a little modest gardening, enough to keep the weeds away. Sick Me can care for my dog and handle the occasional load of laundry. Sick Me finds a lot of joy in my friends and family and internet communities, and has transferred my social life to text, email, and the occasional dining out when the stars align and energy allows. (Metafilter is a lifesaver because I can pick it up whenever my energy level allows and people are so welcoming and understanding.)

As you're waiting for news, it's easy to fall to worry. Please be kind to yourself and don't suffer those fears and losses before you need to. Right now, you are there for your children. Don't put yourself through the punishment of losing them multiple times unnecessarily. And don't say you won't ever get to do a painting class -- I took my first painting class last fall and it was a boon to my soul and it renewed my capacity for beauty.

In the meantime, take as much control of the situation as you need to. Write down a list of questions to review with your doctors. (I've actually typed them out and distributed copies for them to follow along.) You can google, and it's hard not to, but please never tell a doctor that your questions or concerns are coming from google. Also, do not call yourself a hypochondriac -- what you are feeling is what you are feeling, and your concerns are valid and deserving of respect.

Waiting is hard. Please be extra kind to yourself.




w

By clawsoon in "Bye, Amazon" on MeFi

Everyone Expects The Spanish Influenza: There is one solution and one solution only: Stop using Amazon. Period. Nothing else will work. Nothing.

The other solution is to get laws passed which don't allow them to engage in these practises. Laws like that have been passed before; they can be passed again.




w

By Eyebrows McGee in "The real Lord of the Flies" on MeFi

"fascinating, and I'm going to assume it's not hoax. But it doesn't so much raise my impression of the inherent decency of humanity as get me wondering what sort of values etc they were propagating at that exclusive school in Tonga."

This is actually pretty well-studied -- I have a friend who did a Ph.D. in the total collapse of local civil authority and what happens next -- and Lord of the Flies is flat wrong. Humans in an emergency situation lean on each other and help each other. If they fall into despair and think survival isn't possible, they might destroy themselves -- but they don't (usually) take others with them. But generally they pool resources, create organization, find ways to help the group, and find ways to care for the helpless and infirm. People get really frustrated when they're NOT able to assist the group, and even people who have very limited physical abilities try to find ways to help, maybe keeping an eye on the little children, or teaching kids to read.

"Because by the time I read Lord of the Flies in Grade Nine or thereabouts, I'd experienced enough suburban schoolyard/playground savagery and whatnot to not really find its extrapolations all that unbelievable."

So part of the problem with children and schoolyard savagery is that we keep them in a HUGELY artificial structure and limit their ability to participate in society and contribute to it. We MAKE them savages by refusing to allow them to contribute to the group. One of the things we know about children who find themselves without adults and with a need to organize and survive (which might be like these boys, in an actual hardcore survival situation, or they might have plenty of food and water and heat and just need to wait for the blizzard to end and grown-ups to fetch them from where they got snowed in) is that they are amazing at it. Given a chance to be competent and responsible, they usually do really really well! And children have a HUGE innate sense of fairness (it's a developmental phase), so kids under 14 or so basically IMMEDIATELY sit down as a group and hash out how they're going to make decisions and hold people accountable. Generally, they decide on a democracy -- it's not "fair" unless everyone has a say -- and that everyone will have to take turns at gross jobs, and create some kind of punishment for those who don't do their work, which is usually either an extra turn at gross jobs or having to sleep in the worst spot (where they otherwise take turns). They tend to be very conscious of what they know about safety (problems come in with what they DON'T know, like not using a grill indoors for heat b/c you can die from the smoke), and cautiously warn each other to be careful cooking and with sharp objects, and take care to learn from each other's knowledge. If one kid knows how to build a fire, the others will defer to his expertise and will have him teach them and follow his instructions carefully.

Kids do CRY a lot more than adults do, and they get their feelings hurt a lot, but kids are also very conscious of and used to the fact that you can't just avoid people or cut them out of your life (kids don't have that power), so they tend to do a really good job reconciling in-group disputes. They might not all LIKE each other, but they find a way to work together and just complain about each other.

Do you remember that reality show that was meant to be "Kid Survivor" and they hoped it would turn into Lord of the Flies, and it was a SPECTACULAR FLOP? The producers had set up better and worse "houses" in the "abandoned town" set and expected the kids to race for a free-for-all to get the best stuff, and instead they arrived, explored, and then all sat down and made a group decision about how to divide it all up. A couple kids tried to be selfish and stubborn, but got shamed into compliance by the rest of the group, and one of their first concerns was that the littlest kids be buddied up with older kids because it would be too hard for them otherwise "and they might get scared." They agreed on a decision-making procedure the first night and basically stuck to it through the show. When one kid was a jerk, they would all go sit around the campfire and talk and talk and talk until the jerk agreed to stop being a jerk. The producers would create survivor-like challenges where the "winner" would get extra food or some special thing, and every single time they kids would either a) refuse, as a group, to compete, because it wouldn't be "fair" or b) agree to compete because it would be fun or because they wanted/needed the reward, but the winner would share his winning equally with the group AND ALWAYS DID.

Margaret Mead said that in her opinion, the first sign of civilization was a 15,000-year-old human grave with a healed thigh bone. Which means that the nomadic group rescued that person, immobilized his femur, and then cared for him for MONTHS while he recovered and could not contribute to the group. Wild animals die if they break a bone. Humans became civilized, she felt, when the group cared for the individual and allowed them to heal from such grievous injuries. Turns out that's still how we roll.




w

By atrazine in "So how's that work from home working out for you at home?" on MeFi

I think a lot of managers don't know how to manage. When you're in an office, they can perform all sorts of work theater. When they're not, they have to find substitutes to prove they're doing something.

Bing - fuckin' - o

One of the things I do professionally is to help organisations move to flexible and remote working (yes, business is great right now) and the hardest thing is always the cultural and performance management aspects. Many/most managers have never had any training in - nor done any serious thinking about - management. They're like newborns with no object permanence, when things are not in their field of view, they don't exist. When you ask them to evaluate their staff, they give vague answers not backed up by evidence or linked to specific objectives.

It's not that hard. Assign people tasks, check that they have completed them correctly, give feedback. I don't care how much time my team spends wanking, watching prestige television, or reading during the day as long as they deliver me the stuff I've asked for when I've asked for it. I'm genuinely curious what kind of jobs even exist that can be done remotely but are not amenable to an output based way of working. Seriously, name one!

This kind of stuff makes me want to start putting people against the wall.




w

By wenestvedt in "Bye, Amazon" on MeFi

Tim Bray is a smart guy who's been around tech for a long time. Presumably most people here know that, but in case you don't, he's got a very solid nerd pedigree.

To have him get near the top of Amazon, and then walk away because of his principles, says both that things at Amazon are really bad, and also that he's got integrity.

Yes, he probably has a decent retirement nest egg stashed away, but it's still nice to see someone with privilege (particularly in Silicon Valley) be vocally on the correct, humane side of an issue.




w

By chavenet in "So how's that work from home working out for you at home?" on MeFi

Hire good people; review their work; correct errors.

This is the "eat food, not too much, mostly plants" of modern management.




w

By emjaybee in "So how's that work from home working out for you at home?" on MeFi

"It's silly to say, 'I just trust them all,' and close my eyes and hope for the best," he said. Some workers have grimaced at the surveillance, he added, but most should have nothing to hide: "If you're uncomfortable with me confirming the obvious [about your work], what does that say about your motives?"

Actually, not being able to provide your employees with the least amount of autonomy marks you as a shitty (and ineffective; how much work are YOU getting done if you are spying on your team constantly?) manager.

Hire good people; review their work; correct errors. That is your job as manager (along with putting out fires, managing interpersonal issues, and administrative tasks).

People also respond positively to trust and productivity goes up (as well as problem-solving ability).

Mistrust means people do the minimum, stop caring about their job except as revenue generation, and leave as soon as they can. They certainly won't take initiative, why bother? Clearly their boss/company sees them as ungrateful jerks just itching to slack off and steal.

How you treat your employees affects how they perform. This is not rocket science.




w

By nebulawindphone in "Third quarter phenomenon: the bacon wars" on MeFi

Oh for fuck's sake. There's some really interesting stuff in these links, most of it has nothing to do with the three-quarter point of anything, and none of it is making any kind of claim about when this will end.

It's a bunch of interesting stories about how people fail under isolation, and fail harder when relief still feels out of reach. Sure, one thing that can make it feel out of reach is knowing you've still got a quarter of your mission left. Another thing is having no clue how long things will last, which hopefully we can all agree is relevant?

Can we take a deep breath, pretend that Athanassiel chose a pull quote that wasn't total pedant-bait, and start over?




w

Georgia Playlist: Mac Powell

Mac Powell is an Atlanta-based multi-platinum Grammy-winning artist. His band, Mac Powell and the Family Reunion , recently released their new single, Back Again. Mac and the Family Reunion are now on tour, performing songs from the debut album, Back Again . Before his Atlanta performance, Powell added two songs to our Georgia Playlist.




w

Georgia Playlist: Jontavious Willis

Jontavious Willis got his start singing gospel in his hometown of Greenville, Georgia, but something clicked inside him when he heard the blues. His second album, Spectacular Class, came out earlier this year. Critics and blues artists hailed it and declared him a wunderkind and genius who proves the blues is very much alive.




w

What's In The Box?

Inspired by the iconic Drag Race "unboxing," Shangela takes an audio quiz on unboxing videos found on YouTube. Heard on D.J. "Shangela" Pierce: Quaran-Queen. Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST: All right, are you ready to have a little ASK ME ANOTHER challenge? SHANGELA PIERCE: I'm going to tell you guys, I love games. EISENBERG: Great. PIERCE: So I'm super competitive. I'm not playing against anyone I know. But I love games. So this is so cool because I haven't been able to go to a game night. My mom and I play Connect Four (laughter) a lot. JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: (Laughter). PIERCE: But yeah, I'm so excited. Yes. EISENBERG: Shangela, longtime fans of "RuPaul's Drag Race" will remember the truly iconic moment when you surprised the Season 3 contestants by jumping out of a giant box. OK, so was that your idea? PIERCE: Oh, well, it wasn't my idea at all... EISENBERG: Oh. PIERCE: ...For the first time I did it, that was Season 3. Because I remember the




w

Steve Martin On His Years As A Comic — And Walking Away From Stand-Up

DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm David Bianculli, editor of the website TV Worth Watching, sitting in for Terry Gross. Today on FRESH AIR, one of our favorite interviews from our archive - Terry's conversation with comedian, actor and writer Steve Martin. He's also an accomplished bluegrass musician and has been posting occasional videos on social media playing banjo in the woods. Last month he visited CBS's "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert in a special socially distanced comedy bit with Colbert sequestered inside his house and Martin with his guitar, strolling in a forest, determined to sing a song that Colbert is just as determined not to hear. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE LATE SHOW") STEPHEN COLBERT: So we go now live to Steve Martin in the middle of the woods. Hi, Steve. STEVE MARTIN: Hey, Stephen. Thanks for having me on. COLBERT: Well, Steve, you're certainly welcome. MARTIN: You know, Stephen, I was thinking that something we as people need to remember right now




w

It's Not Just A Phase: 'How To Build A Girl' Is About A Teen Still Figuring It Out

Beanie Feldstein does not like the way teenage experimentation and growth gets dismissed as just a phase. "There tends to be the sort of stigma or judgment," she says, whether it's about dress, mood, makeup, or music choice. What she loves about her latest film, How to Build a Girl, is that it gives teen phases the respect they deserve. "Those phases matter ," she says. "It doesn't mean they're going to last, but they do matter. ... I think we could all be reminded of that lesson — especially adults." How to Build a Girl is a film adaptation of Caitlin Moran's 2014 semi-autobiographical novel about an awkward teen turned music critic. Feldstein stars as Johanna Morrigan, a 16-year-old growing up in England in the 1990s. Johanna "hasn't found her people yet," says Feldstein, and her closest confidants are her heroes (Julie Andrews, Freud, Sylvia Plath, Karl Marx) whose pictures are taped to her bedroom wall. Feldstein admits she sometimes felt nervous during filming, but found thinking




w

Judith Warner's New Book On Middle School Suggests It Doesn't Have To Be All Bad

Middle school spans those tween and early teenage years when, for many, puberty hits. Bullies seem to reign supreme. And we begin to grow into ourselves. Like most, writer and reporter Judith Warner was once a middle schooler. She's also the mother of two former middle schoolers. In her new book, And Then They Stopped Talking To Me , she investigates why the middle-school years can be so awful — and what we can do to help make them a little bit better. Interview Highlights On asking people what words come to their mind when thinking of middle school Soul crushing. Shattering. A rush of nausea. Any variation on the word misery that you can come up with. By and large, the answers were so powerful. And yet then there were a couple of people who had good memories too. And that was something that was important for me to hold on to and listen to in more detail. On deciding to write the book It really grew out of a kind of random thought one day when my daughter was in middle school and I