Final Results of the January 2020 Best Post Contest February 3, 2020 11:16 AM Subscribe
It's been Fun, it's been Fabulous, it's been Fascinating, and, of course it's been Fantastic, but now it's also Final: the Best Post as formally voted by the Fellows of the Metafilter Academy follows ...
The number one best post for the month by fantastic flags was:
🌟🌟🌟🥇How much of us is just... random? by clawsoon 🥇🌟🌟🌟
and the runner-up was:
🌠These are the largest things on the planet by theory 🌠
The most fantastic post from a first or second time poster for the month was:
✨💫The Most Important Scientist You’ve Never Heard Of by Mr. Pokeylope 💫✨
Congratulations big January winners, you are all officially Super Mega-Fantastic! Thank you so much for the great posts.
But wait, there's more!
The top posts from last week were ... a rare three-way tie:
🎆 Making a Seat at the Table by jedicus 🎆
🎆The best way to say “hello” to modern classical music is to listen to it by the man of twists and turns 🎆
🎆Emma Willard: 'mapping time' in the way that cartography mapped space by filthy light thief 🎆
Other top voter getters from last week:
How to design AI that eliminates disability bias by tonycpsu
Generative art, built from genetic code of artificial events by filthy light thief
Military Maps, 1532-1815 by carter
But what really kept the tale going was the wax by mwhybark
Formerly enslaved queer freedom fighter William Dorsey Swann, the Queen. by bile and syntax
Thank you all for the gifts and the flowers by How the runs scored
Historic Prime-Time TV Show Intros by Going To Maine
Xenophobia and anti-Asian racism in the wake of the Coronavirus by Umami Dearest
Sounds for January 2020 and Beyond by WCityMike
'raffes? Dagg! by clew
100 Days of Art History Jinjins by rebent
That famous cello prelude, deconstructed by tonycpsu
Life in a Cubic Foot of My Lawn by Johnny Wallflower
Cold War era rocket ship playgrounds by growabrain
Moonshine is a party for everyone...like the music you like, and be free by filthy light thief
Additionally, here are some top Fantastic vote-getters for the month that fell somewhere between the cracks (votes came later, posted at an awkward time to show up in the week's tally, etc.):
Spotted while resting: a ruin by a gentle river by Iridic
"...with time you will accept that I can sing...and you will listen" by nangar
Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them by youarenothere
“My one ambition is to play a hero.” by Fizz
The chicken-or-egg of big gods, morality, and societal complexity by filthy light thief
Wow, what a way to wind up the month! Thank you brilliant posters, and thank you, members, for voting for your faves!
........................
Below we will include the results from the members who sponsored Individual prizes for the month as they come in. If you offered a prize, please mention your winner(s) in the comments, and I will add them here! ...
taz awards the ebook "Circe" (or another choice) to youarenothere for Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them
daisyace awards a regifted Chrismakkuh present to youarenothere for Sabbath-sanctioned Sips
Jessamyn awards maple candy to Bella Donna for Old Norse, mystics and race cars
Cozybee awards youarenothere for Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them and Stunning Seaweed from Victorian Marine Biologist Margaret Gatty
Fizz awards internet points to youarenothere for Stunning Seaweed from Victorian Marine Biologist Margaret Gatty
Mchelly awards ChuraChura for Digitizing the Paper Brigade
Homo neanderthalensis awards a handmade sign to youarenothere for Cabbages on canvas and beyond
box awards Cozybee for By all measures, this book should be a top checkout
The number one best post for the month by fantastic flags was:
🌟🌟🌟🥇How much of us is just... random? by clawsoon 🥇🌟🌟🌟
and the runner-up was:
🌠These are the largest things on the planet by theory 🌠
The most fantastic post from a first or second time poster for the month was:
✨💫The Most Important Scientist You’ve Never Heard Of by Mr. Pokeylope 💫✨
Congratulations big January winners, you are all officially Super Mega-Fantastic! Thank you so much for the great posts.
But wait, there's more!
The top posts from last week were ... a rare three-way tie:
🎆 Making a Seat at the Table by jedicus 🎆
🎆The best way to say “hello” to modern classical music is to listen to it by the man of twists and turns 🎆
🎆Emma Willard: 'mapping time' in the way that cartography mapped space by filthy light thief 🎆
Other top voter getters from last week:
How to design AI that eliminates disability bias by tonycpsu
Generative art, built from genetic code of artificial events by filthy light thief
Military Maps, 1532-1815 by carter
But what really kept the tale going was the wax by mwhybark
Formerly enslaved queer freedom fighter William Dorsey Swann, the Queen. by bile and syntax
Thank you all for the gifts and the flowers by How the runs scored
Historic Prime-Time TV Show Intros by Going To Maine
Xenophobia and anti-Asian racism in the wake of the Coronavirus by Umami Dearest
Sounds for January 2020 and Beyond by WCityMike
'raffes? Dagg! by clew
100 Days of Art History Jinjins by rebent
That famous cello prelude, deconstructed by tonycpsu
Life in a Cubic Foot of My Lawn by Johnny Wallflower
Cold War era rocket ship playgrounds by growabrain
Moonshine is a party for everyone...like the music you like, and be free by filthy light thief
Additionally, here are some top Fantastic vote-getters for the month that fell somewhere between the cracks (votes came later, posted at an awkward time to show up in the week's tally, etc.):
Spotted while resting: a ruin by a gentle river by Iridic
"...with time you will accept that I can sing...and you will listen" by nangar
Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them by youarenothere
“My one ambition is to play a hero.” by Fizz
The chicken-or-egg of big gods, morality, and societal complexity by filthy light thief
Wow, what a way to wind up the month! Thank you brilliant posters, and thank you, members, for voting for your faves!
........................
Below we will include the results from the members who sponsored Individual prizes for the month as they come in. If you offered a prize, please mention your winner(s) in the comments, and I will add them here! ...
taz awards the ebook "Circe" (or another choice) to youarenothere for Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them
daisyace awards a regifted Chrismakkuh present to youarenothere for Sabbath-sanctioned Sips
Jessamyn awards maple candy to Bella Donna for Old Norse, mystics and race cars
Cozybee awards youarenothere for Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them and Stunning Seaweed from Victorian Marine Biologist Margaret Gatty
Fizz awards internet points to youarenothere for Stunning Seaweed from Victorian Marine Biologist Margaret Gatty
Mchelly awards ChuraChura for Digitizing the Paper Brigade
Homo neanderthalensis awards a handmade sign to youarenothere for Cabbages on canvas and beyond
box awards Cozybee for By all measures, this book should be a top checkout
youarenotthere is ALSO the winner of the ‘extreme connoisseurship’ category, for this post with hundreds of video reviews of kosher wines and spirits. As that same post is also tagged for two other categories, I have a feeling this might not be the end of youarenotthere’s category wins — Congratulations! MeMail me your address for the promised prize (a regifted Chrismakkuh present that failed to exhibit sufficient connoisseurship). Thank you for a post that far surpasses that prize!
posted by daisyace at 3:59 PM on February 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by daisyace at 3:59 PM on February 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Congrats, everyone!
Nearly 70 posts are under consideration for the Awesome Women category. Again I'm considering certain posts even if they didn't have the tags I asked for. I'm still making my way through them (it is definitely a job I welcome and find immensely rewarding) and hope to announce winners within the next week or so.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 7:27 PM on February 3, 2020
Nearly 70 posts are under consideration for the Awesome Women category. Again I'm considering certain posts even if they didn't have the tags I asked for. I'm still making my way through them (it is definitely a job I welcome and find immensely rewarding) and hope to announce winners within the next week or so.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 7:27 PM on February 3, 2020
There were six posts that used the "rural" tag this month and I just finished reading all the articles from all of them. You guys, they are all SO GOOD.
- a village in France that was going to be flooded for a reservoir and then... wasn't. by cynacle pinnacle
- The UKs remotest pub, by EllieBOA
- Female folk art from rural Mexico, by MonkeyToes
- Oral history about GLBTQIA+ rural folks in the US by youarenotthere
- Canadian indigenous whale hunts and backlash by charmedimsure
And my favorite, though I loved them all, was probably Maja Daniels and her photography from a remote Swedish village, home to the original Swedish witch hunts. by Bella Donna. Drop me a note and I'll put some candy in the mail for you.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 7:42 PM on February 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
- a village in France that was going to be flooded for a reservoir and then... wasn't. by cynacle pinnacle
- The UKs remotest pub, by EllieBOA
- Female folk art from rural Mexico, by MonkeyToes
- Oral history about GLBTQIA+ rural folks in the US by youarenotthere
- Canadian indigenous whale hunts and backlash by charmedimsure
And my favorite, though I loved them all, was probably Maja Daniels and her photography from a remote Swedish village, home to the original Swedish witch hunts. by Bella Donna. Drop me a note and I'll put some candy in the mail for you.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 7:42 PM on February 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
There's no question the winner of the artsy category was user youarenothere, who posted 7 of the 8 entries to that tag over January including my two favorites, Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them and Stunning Seaweed from Victorian Marine Biologist Margaret Gatty.
(I only realized it was almost all one user looking over the entries now, so thank you youarenothere for going above and beyond answering my art content cravings!)
posted by Cozybee at 9:34 PM on February 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
(I only realized it was almost all one user looking over the entries now, so thank you youarenothere for going above and beyond answering my art content cravings!)
posted by Cozybee at 9:34 PM on February 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
There's no question the winner of the artsy category was user youarenothere, who posted 7 of the 8 entries to that tag over January including my two favorites, Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them and Stunning Seaweed from Victorian Marine Biologist Margaret Gatty.
Indeed! A mighty hurrah and huzzah! You get all my fake internet points for making a post about Victorian Literature, a pleasant distraction on the blue. Cheers!
It's been a fun month and I've enjoyed participating with all of you, cheers.
posted by Fizz at 4:45 AM on February 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Indeed! A mighty hurrah and huzzah! You get all my fake internet points for making a post about Victorian Literature, a pleasant distraction on the blue. Cheers!
It's been a fun month and I've enjoyed participating with all of you, cheers.
posted by Fizz at 4:45 AM on February 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
There were only 3 FPPs for my "post something Jewish" category, which were all awesome:
- Sabbath-sanctioned Sips by youarenothere
- Digitizing the Paper Brigade by ChuraChura
- Back to the Beginning by damayanti
Based on fantastic flags, the winner was ChuraChura's post about digitizing recovered documents from Vilna's lost Jewish community. But I'd like to call out how great all of the posts were, with youarenotthere already winning in another category (yay!), and damayanti's post starting a whole group of MeFites learning daf yomi (wow!). Thanks everyone!
posted by Mchelly at 6:18 AM on February 4, 2020 [7 favorites]
- Sabbath-sanctioned Sips by youarenothere
- Digitizing the Paper Brigade by ChuraChura
- Back to the Beginning by damayanti
Based on fantastic flags, the winner was ChuraChura's post about digitizing recovered documents from Vilna's lost Jewish community. But I'd like to call out how great all of the posts were, with youarenotthere already winning in another category (yay!), and damayanti's post starting a whole group of MeFites learning daf yomi (wow!). Thanks everyone!
posted by Mchelly at 6:18 AM on February 4, 2020 [7 favorites]
Hello people!
What a thrilling month for posts: congrats to all the winners, each as fantastic as the last! Every week's collection of top vote-getters was such an exhilarating mix of voices and links. The promise of a community weblog feels quite beautifully fulfilled.
I made a lot of posts this month! As is being noted! I initially decided to take the the contest as an opportunity to push myself into making more FPPs (a longstanding and clearly important personal goal) and somewhere along the way wanted to see if I could make a post in each category for individual prizes. Not in order, necessarily, to win said prizes, but because I considered it motivating and a nice, semi-passive way of connecting with other members. It was so fun! I really enjoyed tracking down links outside of my usual milieu and poking around some different corners of the web; it felt really exciting to bring my small little finds to the folks here. Hoping to hold on to some of this energy and keep posting more regularly throughout the year.
Thanks posters. Thanks flaggers. Thanks commenters. Thanks favoriters. Thanks mods. This is a good website. I am very much on board with themed months now! cortex, where you at? Double Post Jubilee WHEN????
posted by youarenothere at 9:57 AM on February 4, 2020 [9 favorites]
What a thrilling month for posts: congrats to all the winners, each as fantastic as the last! Every week's collection of top vote-getters was such an exhilarating mix of voices and links. The promise of a community weblog feels quite beautifully fulfilled.
I made a lot of posts this month! As is being noted! I initially decided to take the the contest as an opportunity to push myself into making more FPPs (a longstanding and clearly important personal goal) and somewhere along the way wanted to see if I could make a post in each category for individual prizes. Not in order, necessarily, to win said prizes, but because I considered it motivating and a nice, semi-passive way of connecting with other members. It was so fun! I really enjoyed tracking down links outside of my usual milieu and poking around some different corners of the web; it felt really exciting to bring my small little finds to the folks here. Hoping to hold on to some of this energy and keep posting more regularly throughout the year.
Thanks posters. Thanks flaggers. Thanks commenters. Thanks favoriters. Thanks mods. This is a good website. I am very much on board with themed months now! cortex, where you at? Double Post Jubilee WHEN????
posted by youarenothere at 9:57 AM on February 4, 2020 [9 favorites]
taz: I was initially thinking wait, what, did I make posts about solitude that I don't recall?? but suddenly remembered that I immediately favorite any AskMe that even marginally gestures toward a implied question of Is it possible to run away from everything and become a hermit forever? so, yeah, you are correct, I have a deep interest in beings which thrive in states of isolation. Which is to say: "Circe" sounds awesome! I would be delighted to load it up on my e-reader. I am happy you liked the post! Her drawings are so spellbinding (appropriately enough).
daisyace & Mchelly: That post is the perfect example of something I was able to find for the contest that I would not have stumbled across otherwise and now Yehoshua Werth is one of my internet loves. Thank you both for the category suggestion! MeMail on the way, daisyace; I cannot WAIT to find out what this regift is! (As an aside, I was also amazed at the daf yomi post--thanks for the education on that, damayanti.)
Cozybee: Heck yeah for art! To be fair, there were many art posts over the month; I think I was just one of the few who was ensuring to include the tag. Still, thanks for the shoutout! I'm currently living in a rather unpopulated area and making sure that I encounter engrossing art and artists online in place of the regular gallery crawls of my previous life has been very important for my brain--much gratitude for facilitating that through your contest tag.
Fizz: thank you for the internet points! Perhaps one day they will be convertible to MeFiCoin; I shall bookmark your comment just in case.
posted by youarenothere at 10:27 AM on February 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
daisyace & Mchelly: That post is the perfect example of something I was able to find for the contest that I would not have stumbled across otherwise and now Yehoshua Werth is one of my internet loves. Thank you both for the category suggestion! MeMail on the way, daisyace; I cannot WAIT to find out what this regift is! (As an aside, I was also amazed at the daf yomi post--thanks for the education on that, damayanti.)
Cozybee: Heck yeah for art! To be fair, there were many art posts over the month; I think I was just one of the few who was ensuring to include the tag. Still, thanks for the shoutout! I'm currently living in a rather unpopulated area and making sure that I encounter engrossing art and artists online in place of the regular gallery crawls of my previous life has been very important for my brain--much gratitude for facilitating that through your contest tag.
Fizz: thank you for the internet points! Perhaps one day they will be convertible to MeFiCoin; I shall bookmark your comment just in case.
posted by youarenothere at 10:27 AM on February 4, 2020 [4 favorites]
Fizz: thank you for the internet points! Perhaps one day they will be convertible to MeFiCoin; I shall bookmark your comment just in case.
They're non-transferable. They can only be used to buy Mountain Dew Red.
posted by Fizz at 11:03 AM on February 4, 2020
They're non-transferable. They can only be used to buy Mountain Dew Red.
posted by Fizz at 11:03 AM on February 4, 2020
They're non-transferable. They can only be used to buy Mountain Dew Red.
I'm trying to imagine a world where Mountain Dew Red could get me things I want and... it is not a pleasant thought exercise.
posted by bile and syntax at 11:26 AM on February 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm trying to imagine a world where Mountain Dew Red could get me things I want and... it is not a pleasant thought exercise.
posted by bile and syntax at 11:26 AM on February 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
They're non-transferable. They can only be used to buy Mountain Dew Red.
Hmmmmmm. If they come with a time machine, I may be able to use them to impress my high school boyfriend's LARP buddies fifteen years ago for some much needed clout.
posted by youarenothere at 1:31 PM on February 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
Hmmmmmm. If they come with a time machine, I may be able to use them to impress my high school boyfriend's LARP buddies fifteen years ago for some much needed clout.
posted by youarenothere at 1:31 PM on February 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
There were only a few biters on the Brassica front but I absolutely fell in love with Cabbages on canvas and beyond by youarenothere! Memail me baby- I'm gonna make you a sign!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 8:28 PM on February 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 8:28 PM on February 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
I wasn't aware of this contest until just now! It's a pleasant surprise and an honor to be the runner-up for something I hadn't known I was in the running for.
posted by theory at 10:28 PM on February 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by theory at 10:28 PM on February 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
Hey, a post of mine got a mention in the "fell somewhere between the cracks" portion of the also-rans. No post of mine has ever been mentioned in one of these things in the entire ten years I've been here. It makes me happy that some of you thought it was interesting and voted for it.
posted by nangar at 7:16 AM on February 6, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by nangar at 7:16 AM on February 6, 2020 [8 favorites]
Oh man, I am such an inadvertent prize hoarder. Thank you HN! You will also be proud to hear that I got a big batch of fresh kraut bubblin' away on my countertop as we speak. I'll think of you when I eventually scarf down some homemade Reubens next month.
posted by youarenothere at 8:36 AM on February 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by youarenothere at 8:36 AM on February 6, 2020 [4 favorites]
The best (okay, my favorite) January post about libraries was Cozybee's post about NYPL top checkouts and Goodnight Moon. They win a prize TBD (Cozybee, if you're reading, check your MeMail).
While I'm sure there were some great posts from librarians and library workers in January, none of them, including the three that I made, used the tag 'librarianpost'--in fact, no one has ever used that tag, so, yeah, let's call that one a failed experiment and try again later.
posted by box at 8:08 AM on February 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
While I'm sure there were some great posts from librarians and library workers in January, none of them, including the three that I made, used the tag 'librarianpost'--in fact, no one has ever used that tag, so, yeah, let's call that one a failed experiment and try again later.
posted by box at 8:08 AM on February 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Challenge accepted!
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 8:18 AM on February 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 8:18 AM on February 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
Quick update to say I haven't forgotten about the Awesome Women category...trust me, Funko Pop Maria Rambeau is here to remind me every day. Some health issues came up - I am okay but am a little behind on the winners announcement and am in the process of catching up. Watch this space, and I will also send MeFiMail to the winners too (if possible). (If all goes well, I may also fulfill some other promises to make a couple of posts!)
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 2:14 AM on February 18, 2020
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 2:14 AM on February 18, 2020
Whew, in before this post closes! Hi everyone - thanks for your patience. I finally have the winners and honorable mentions for my category: posts about not-so-famous women doing awesome things (bonus for diverse and underrepresented women). Because of time constraints, though, I had to make some of my notes shorter than in past years, so apologies.
Winners list here, and I'll add honorable mentions in a separate comment.
(Personal note: it's been a tough time and I can't tell you how energizing and affirming it was/is to go through these posts. It is the best to see a post and get lost in it, in general, but whenever I do this for the contest, I really wish I had the time and resources to send everyone a prize. I'm so appreciative of everyone who has posted about awesome women and continues to post about awesome women. Thank you.)
I kid you not, this year was the most difficult to choose one top winner, and rather than spending more time agonizing over this, I'm declaring a tie!
Congrats to spamandkimchi and youarenothere!
spamandkimchi had two posts I really enjoyed, about:
- Artist Kristina Wong's web series for kids, "Radical Cram School" where I literally watched all of season 1 and 2 in one evening. The kids are the best. Delightful, and one episode even has civil rights activist Mia Yamamoto as a guest. The musical numbers are also great and life-affirming.
- Idelisse Malavé and Joanne Sandler and their podcast "Two Old Bitches" (as in "Being In Total Charge of Herself") where they interview interesting guests who are over 50. Every contest, there's always a terrific new podcast I learn about (and I still listen to them) and I'm happy that this year is no exception.
youarenothere really was a posting storm for this contest and this category this year. I could use the word "fascinating" for all of these. My favorite was:
- Eye Pixels // Stop Motion: "Egypt-based artist dina Amin scoured 'Friday market' in Cairo to collect 179 doll heads in order to find 49 matching eyes in creation of a new studio sign" -- I mean how can you not want to learn more about her creativity? She also makes things out of trash, and disassembles things people have discarded (e.g. camera, cell phone, hairdryer, mechanical timer...), to learn how they work. And she makes cool stop-motion animation videos about them.
I also liked:
- Our knowledge of the past is odourless - Cecilia Bembibre and her PhD work on Smell of Heritage which "explores the identification, analysis and archival of smells, from determining and describing culturally significant aromas, to the scientific techniques that can help us capture and understand the compounds that make them."
- Stunning Seaweed from Victorian Marine Biologist Margaret Gatty - a fan favorite, I see! I also enjoyed the additional info in the article about other cool women I didn't know about. Btw this is a great companion piece with a prior category winner from infini a few years ago, Mother of the Sea.
- Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them - another fan favorite apparently :) about artist Iman Joy El Shami-Mader illustrating the world's mythical beasts.
Congrats! I will happily send you each a postcard and a Funko Pop bobblehead of the awesome Captain Maria Rambeau from one of my favorite movies, Captain Marvel!
More winners! - I'll send a postcard if you would like one:
In no particular order:
- Department of Good Energy about artist Angela Lahs-Gonzales, employee #11 of Fermilab whose wide-ranging, fantastic vision for over 30 years at Fermilab -- and family history -- really deserve to be more well known (other members of her family were also artists; she escaped Germany with her family during WW2). I was impressed by how her larger art, paintings, murals, etc all the way down to the program covers she drew were so meticulously done. If the thread were still open, I'd drop in these links to her daughter's site, which has a timeline/biography of Angela Lahs-Gonzales (which says one of her paintings was displayed in Senator Robert Kennedy's office), Curt Lahs (Angela's father), and a brief page on Marianne (Ari) Lahs (Angela's mother). (by theodolite)
- Black Artists / White Spaces, mentioned in a previous week winners' post. It features multiple articles/sites about black artists and their work - one is by Aurella Yussuf about "legacy of Black British artists as UK art institutions open their doors to artists they have long closed out, and the need for these same organizations to support younger generations." One is a profile of Linda Goode Bryant, who opened Just Above Midtown (JAM), a gallery for black artists in 1974. One takes a look at the output of artist Carrie Mae Weems. One is an article about "Great Force" which was an exhibit on racism and its movement within and throughout America history (curated by Amber Esseiva) at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Institute for Contemporary Art. (by jj's.mama)
From ChuraChura:
- The Zora Canon - "Kaitlyn Greenidge introduces Zora's new Canon of African American Women's Literature." Wonderful resources and I'm looking forward to reading the books I'm not familiar with.
- Digitizing the Paper Brigade, mentioned in this thread also as a winner - about Miglė Anušauskaitė and Jessica Podhorcer (who is the sister of a mefite -- see the comments! This is the second year in a row where the subject in a post in my category turned out to be a mefite's sister!) and their efforts in translating rescued autobiographies written by Jewish children in the 1930s.
- "How sometimes, we lose: profoundly and without recourse." - about Stefani Echeverría-Fenn, "who started a homeless encampment called 37MLK in her neighborhood in Oakland, California. As an article by Vivian Ho in The Guardian recounts, it has been such a success that Oakland city council members have looked to it as a model for temporary housing. Echeverría-Fenn is a classicist who gained prominence after co-founding The Sportula: Micro-grants for Classics Students, which has brought her both positive and negative attention." (by Kattullus)
- Do you wear that when you're home alone? - "Yes, I'm Hot In This, the brainchild of Huda Fahmy, is a webcomic about life as a Muslim American hijabi." Be sure to check out the links in the comments too. (by sunset in snow country)
- Run fast don't stand in the sun/ There's too much work to be done - obit for Norma Tanega, the singer/songwriter and artist. "She was probably best known for Me and My Cat Named Dog (1966), though her amazing song You're Dead has been frequently covered over the years." She was also in a relationship with Dusty Springfield for five years (in one of the linked videos, IIRC she goes through a bunch of records in her collection at her home in her later years, and they include Springfield's). If the thread were still open I'd drop in these links: an obit from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, her local paper, written by a reporter who'd interviewed her before (uncomfortably, apparently -- he talks about it in the obit he wrote for her), and that interview. She was also an art teacher and ESL teacher. (by frumiousb)
- How one move can make climbing more inclusive - "Anaheed Saatchi writes about how the climbing community can become more inclusive and intersectionally aware, starting with one challenging move: the dyno." And this is a nice companion with previous contest category winner about paraclimber Anoushé Husain. (by daisyk)
- Rupa's Proto-Balearic Bengali Beats - "Rupa Biswas made a Bengali disco album on holiday in Canada in the early 1980s, which sank without trace. Decades later, her son discovered that copies were selling online for hundreds of dollars and that one track in particular had racked up millions of views on YouTube. Now the singer is receiving proceeds from the Numero Group reissue and corresponding with fans around the world." I absolutely enjoyed this post and listening to her music. Highly recommend if you missed hearing it. (by rory)
- "...with time you will accept that I can sing...and you will listen" - "Bertsolaritza is a form of improvised sung poetry traditional in Basque Country. In 2009, Maialen Lujanbio Zugasti became the first woman to win the Bertsolari Txapelketa Nagusia, a competition held every four years covering all regions of Basque Country. In 2017, she became the first woman to win it twice." Riveting performances. It feels like watching someone about to skydive, but with words and rhythm and music. (by nangar)
- 100 Days of Art History Jinjins: "Artist and Designer Jinjin Sun: 'I'm slowly working my way through a personal project to do 100 master studies, faceswapping myself into each one as I go. This started as a 100 Day Project back in 2018 and quickly turned into a longer-term project that helps me express myself, explore my identity in relation to Western art history, and skill up in drawing.'" A creative, intense undertaking. (by rebent)
- Beads are easier to connect than family - "A short story about beading and relations. Beth Piatote is a Nez Perce writer and associate professor of Native American Studies at UC Berkeley." Lovely and achingly loving short story. (by stoneweaver)
- The Girlfriend's Guide to the Gods - "A story at tor.com, by Maria Dahvana Headley" - unbeknownst to the poster, I had recently been reading some works playing with and reimagining classical mythology, and I read this at the right time. Fortunately most of my favorite parts were shared as highlights in the post discussion. This was one of the last posts I'd been saving to read, and I'm so glad I did! I know very little about classical mythology and still was very moved by this. (by Ragged Richard)
Congrats, everyone! I'll send MeFi mail to the winners within the next few days. Please respond if you'd like to receive your prize!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 3:54 AM on March 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
Winners list here, and I'll add honorable mentions in a separate comment.
(Personal note: it's been a tough time and I can't tell you how energizing and affirming it was/is to go through these posts. It is the best to see a post and get lost in it, in general, but whenever I do this for the contest, I really wish I had the time and resources to send everyone a prize. I'm so appreciative of everyone who has posted about awesome women and continues to post about awesome women. Thank you.)
I kid you not, this year was the most difficult to choose one top winner, and rather than spending more time agonizing over this, I'm declaring a tie!
Congrats to spamandkimchi and youarenothere!
spamandkimchi had two posts I really enjoyed, about:
- Artist Kristina Wong's web series for kids, "Radical Cram School" where I literally watched all of season 1 and 2 in one evening. The kids are the best. Delightful, and one episode even has civil rights activist Mia Yamamoto as a guest. The musical numbers are also great and life-affirming.
- Idelisse Malavé and Joanne Sandler and their podcast "Two Old Bitches" (as in "Being In Total Charge of Herself") where they interview interesting guests who are over 50. Every contest, there's always a terrific new podcast I learn about (and I still listen to them) and I'm happy that this year is no exception.
youarenothere really was a posting storm for this contest and this category this year. I could use the word "fascinating" for all of these. My favorite was:
- Eye Pixels // Stop Motion: "Egypt-based artist dina Amin scoured 'Friday market' in Cairo to collect 179 doll heads in order to find 49 matching eyes in creation of a new studio sign" -- I mean how can you not want to learn more about her creativity? She also makes things out of trash, and disassembles things people have discarded (e.g. camera, cell phone, hairdryer, mechanical timer...), to learn how they work. And she makes cool stop-motion animation videos about them.
I also liked:
- Our knowledge of the past is odourless - Cecilia Bembibre and her PhD work on Smell of Heritage which "explores the identification, analysis and archival of smells, from determining and describing culturally significant aromas, to the scientific techniques that can help us capture and understand the compounds that make them."
- Stunning Seaweed from Victorian Marine Biologist Margaret Gatty - a fan favorite, I see! I also enjoyed the additional info in the article about other cool women I didn't know about. Btw this is a great companion piece with a prior category winner from infini a few years ago, Mother of the Sea.
- Fantastic beasts and someone to draw them - another fan favorite apparently :) about artist Iman Joy El Shami-Mader illustrating the world's mythical beasts.
Congrats! I will happily send you each a postcard and a Funko Pop bobblehead of the awesome Captain Maria Rambeau from one of my favorite movies, Captain Marvel!
More winners! - I'll send a postcard if you would like one:
In no particular order:
- Department of Good Energy about artist Angela Lahs-Gonzales, employee #11 of Fermilab whose wide-ranging, fantastic vision for over 30 years at Fermilab -- and family history -- really deserve to be more well known (other members of her family were also artists; she escaped Germany with her family during WW2). I was impressed by how her larger art, paintings, murals, etc all the way down to the program covers she drew were so meticulously done. If the thread were still open, I'd drop in these links to her daughter's site, which has a timeline/biography of Angela Lahs-Gonzales (which says one of her paintings was displayed in Senator Robert Kennedy's office), Curt Lahs (Angela's father), and a brief page on Marianne (Ari) Lahs (Angela's mother). (by theodolite)
- Black Artists / White Spaces, mentioned in a previous week winners' post. It features multiple articles/sites about black artists and their work - one is by Aurella Yussuf about "legacy of Black British artists as UK art institutions open their doors to artists they have long closed out, and the need for these same organizations to support younger generations." One is a profile of Linda Goode Bryant, who opened Just Above Midtown (JAM), a gallery for black artists in 1974. One takes a look at the output of artist Carrie Mae Weems. One is an article about "Great Force" which was an exhibit on racism and its movement within and throughout America history (curated by Amber Esseiva) at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Institute for Contemporary Art. (by jj's.mama)
From ChuraChura:
- The Zora Canon - "Kaitlyn Greenidge introduces Zora's new Canon of African American Women's Literature." Wonderful resources and I'm looking forward to reading the books I'm not familiar with.
- Digitizing the Paper Brigade, mentioned in this thread also as a winner - about Miglė Anušauskaitė and Jessica Podhorcer (who is the sister of a mefite -- see the comments! This is the second year in a row where the subject in a post in my category turned out to be a mefite's sister!) and their efforts in translating rescued autobiographies written by Jewish children in the 1930s.
- "How sometimes, we lose: profoundly and without recourse." - about Stefani Echeverría-Fenn, "who started a homeless encampment called 37MLK in her neighborhood in Oakland, California. As an article by Vivian Ho in The Guardian recounts, it has been such a success that Oakland city council members have looked to it as a model for temporary housing. Echeverría-Fenn is a classicist who gained prominence after co-founding The Sportula: Micro-grants for Classics Students, which has brought her both positive and negative attention." (by Kattullus)
- Do you wear that when you're home alone? - "Yes, I'm Hot In This, the brainchild of Huda Fahmy, is a webcomic about life as a Muslim American hijabi." Be sure to check out the links in the comments too. (by sunset in snow country)
- Run fast don't stand in the sun/ There's too much work to be done - obit for Norma Tanega, the singer/songwriter and artist. "She was probably best known for Me and My Cat Named Dog (1966), though her amazing song You're Dead has been frequently covered over the years." She was also in a relationship with Dusty Springfield for five years (in one of the linked videos, IIRC she goes through a bunch of records in her collection at her home in her later years, and they include Springfield's). If the thread were still open I'd drop in these links: an obit from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, her local paper, written by a reporter who'd interviewed her before (uncomfortably, apparently -- he talks about it in the obit he wrote for her), and that interview. She was also an art teacher and ESL teacher. (by frumiousb)
- How one move can make climbing more inclusive - "Anaheed Saatchi writes about how the climbing community can become more inclusive and intersectionally aware, starting with one challenging move: the dyno." And this is a nice companion with previous contest category winner about paraclimber Anoushé Husain. (by daisyk)
- Rupa's Proto-Balearic Bengali Beats - "Rupa Biswas made a Bengali disco album on holiday in Canada in the early 1980s, which sank without trace. Decades later, her son discovered that copies were selling online for hundreds of dollars and that one track in particular had racked up millions of views on YouTube. Now the singer is receiving proceeds from the Numero Group reissue and corresponding with fans around the world." I absolutely enjoyed this post and listening to her music. Highly recommend if you missed hearing it. (by rory)
- "...with time you will accept that I can sing...and you will listen" - "Bertsolaritza is a form of improvised sung poetry traditional in Basque Country. In 2009, Maialen Lujanbio Zugasti became the first woman to win the Bertsolari Txapelketa Nagusia, a competition held every four years covering all regions of Basque Country. In 2017, she became the first woman to win it twice." Riveting performances. It feels like watching someone about to skydive, but with words and rhythm and music. (by nangar)
- 100 Days of Art History Jinjins: "Artist and Designer Jinjin Sun: 'I'm slowly working my way through a personal project to do 100 master studies, faceswapping myself into each one as I go. This started as a 100 Day Project back in 2018 and quickly turned into a longer-term project that helps me express myself, explore my identity in relation to Western art history, and skill up in drawing.'" A creative, intense undertaking. (by rebent)
- Beads are easier to connect than family - "A short story about beading and relations. Beth Piatote is a Nez Perce writer and associate professor of Native American Studies at UC Berkeley." Lovely and achingly loving short story. (by stoneweaver)
- The Girlfriend's Guide to the Gods - "A story at tor.com, by Maria Dahvana Headley" - unbeknownst to the poster, I had recently been reading some works playing with and reimagining classical mythology, and I read this at the right time. Fortunately most of my favorite parts were shared as highlights in the post discussion. This was one of the last posts I'd been saving to read, and I'm so glad I did! I know very little about classical mythology and still was very moved by this. (by Ragged Richard)
Congrats, everyone! I'll send MeFi mail to the winners within the next few days. Please respond if you'd like to receive your prize!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 3:54 AM on March 3, 2020 [3 favorites]
awesomewomen category Honorable Mentions!
(should be in chrono order)
if you missed any, I definitely recommend checking out these posts about:
Huzzah to all of you for making these posts!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 6:41 AM on March 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
(should be in chrono order)
if you missed any, I definitely recommend checking out these posts about:
- Natalie Mueller, archaeologist and ethnobotanist - "After a curious quest find lost crops in all the wrong places among the ruins, after planting and harvesting, Natalie Mueller has found that growing goosefoot and erect knotweed together gives yields within the range for traditionally grown maize." (by clawsoon)
- Janet Gnosspelius's collection of the "cat whiskers she found between 1940-1942" -- her catalogue clearly indicated her love of learning. Became an architect and, later in life, an authority on local history and other subjects. "She was known for her jodhpurs, collar-and-tie, handmade tweeds and elegant cigarette holder, her cats (who signed off many letters), 1939 Sunbeam Talbot car, prodigious workload and caustic red pen." Great first post, too! (by cpatterson)
- Mistress Velvet - "Meet The Dominatrix Who Requires The Men Who Hire Her To Read Black Feminist Theory. ... Seeing an opportunity to explain that racial fetishizing can be a form of dehumanization, Mistress Velvet created a reading list for her clients." (by loriginedumonde)
- Jenny Dorsey, chef, writer, and artist and her provocative essay about being shamed for being someone who grew up on “different” food, and her doing a sort of performance art dinner about it. (by hurdy gurdy girl)
- Nathalie Vanderlinden whose day job is as a chef in San Francisco, and outside of her day job, reads Proust's novels all the way through, aloud -- her first project was "Du côté de chez Swann, aloud, in San Francisco BART stations, in two-hour stretches (she is originally from Belgium). Then she read it in one 19 hour effort, at a performance space in Brussels. Next up? À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs in four parts, again in BART stations." A quote from her: “I don’t want to stop. I want to live through the book and I want the book to live through me. And I want people to see this.” (by niicholas)
- Alice Ruppert and The Mane Quest - her website "about horses in video games and video games about horses." Her reviews are thorough and enjoyable even for me, who knows practically nothing about horses except that they're mighty and excellent and can be great friends. In one of her articles, she suggests a game about Black Beauty, which I endorse. In one of her reviews, there's a line which makes me wonder if she is a secret MeFite: "Okay look I criticize a lot about these games but I am 100% behind the decision to let players put a tiny top hat on their horse in the 'dress up' minigame." (by Lirp)
- Maja Daniels, photographer who "relives three freezing years in a rural cabin in the village of Älvdalen" - a village where she spent many childhood summers - "the place where Swedish witch hunts began – and it still boasts its own language and strange rituals." (by Bella Donna)
- Becky Smethurst, astrophysicist, talks to João Alves, Catherine Zucker & Alyssa A. Goodman, three of the co-authors of an article relating new findings: "the shape of a star-forming wave of gas 9,000 light years in length in the sun’s neighborhood in the galaxy, which the solar system passed through earlier in its history." (by nangar)
- Margaret McFarland, Mentor to Mister Rogers - she was fundamental to his show. Made me want to find out even more about her life. From NYT article: "After graduating, she became principal of the Kindergarten Training College of Melbourne, Australia, then returned to the United States to serve as director of the children’s school at Mount Holyoke College, a women’s college in South Hadley, Mass., where she was promoted to associate professor of psychology in 1948. She returned to her hometown in 1951 and was an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh when she met Rogers." (by bq)
- Zapatista enclave: "In December 2019 more than 3,000 women from all over the world 'came together in an autonomous Zapatista enclave in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas over the weekend to unite against the patriarchy, violence and capitalism.'" (by primalux)
- Las Rancheritas, a Fiber Arts Cooperative - "a small-scale women's cooperative from the farming village of Agustín González. Its members re-create scenes from the world around them in handmade rugs, purses, and pillows; the project has provided a sustainable stream of income and a creative outlet for these self-taught fiber artists for over a decade." Gorgeous art. (by MonkeyToes)
- Najiah Knight - "the 13-Year-Old Girl Upending the World of Professional Bull Riding" - post includes info about other underrepresented bull riders. (Awesome girl doing an awesome thing!) (by filthy light thief)
- Rosemary Mosco is a science cartoonist and communicator who draws nature comics. (by ChuraChura)
- Rep. Ayanna Pressley - her "hair story is both personal and political" -- and notable. (by vespabelle)
- The women of Shaheen Bagh protest against India's new citizenship law (by peacheater)
- Faith Hope Consolo - "She Was a Star of New York Real Estate, but Her Life Story Was a Lie" (by Mchelly)
- Jeannette Ng, novelist, hair wizard, game designer - her essay "Confessions of a Hate Reader" which examines how the voices of nitpicky Internet hate-readers have seeped in and affected her writing. (by storytam)
- Emily and Amelia Nagoski (sisters) "wrote a book about burnout and ways to complete the stress cycle with concrete, specific, and evidence-based methods. Then they made a podcast about it." The podcast tagline: "for feminists who feel overwhelmed and exhausted by everything we need to get done in 2020, and still worry that we're not doing enough." (by faethverity)
- Frieda Rapoport Caplan, aka "Kiwi Queen” and “Mother Gooseberry.” “Mushroom Lady” and “the “Mick Jagger of the produce world.” An interesting read (obit post) about a woman who made a difference to many lives in very particular way. "If you've bought sunchokes (Jersusalem artichokes), dragon fruit, jicama, Stokes Purple sweet potatoes, kiwifruit, habanero peppers, or black garlic in a grocery store in the U.S., you'll want to eat a fruit or vegetable today in honor of the woman who helped get them there. ... [She] broke the glass ceiling in the testosterone-doused produce world and forever changed the way Americans eat fruits and vegetables." (by MonkeyToes)
- Samantha Irby - NYT Bestselling author of We Are Never Meeting In Real Life and writer behind the best episode of Hulu's Shrill is featured in The New Yorker with an excerpt from her forthcoming book, Wow, No Thank You. (by Maaik)
- Emma Willard - "'mapping time' in the way that cartography mapped space" - wow, wonderful data presentation and history. (by filthy light thief)
- Making a Seat at the Table: Women Transform Woodworking "was a recent exhibit at the Center for Art in Wood featuring works by 43 women, women-identifying, and gender non-conforming woodworkers. Guest curators Laura Mays and Deirdre Visser discuss the exhibit in this short video." (by jedicus)
- Lauren Orchowski - NASA photographer who has been "documenting the Cold War era rocket ship playgrounds that were mass produced and installed by rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities on both public and private land at the height of the 20th century Space Race." I recognize some of them! (by growabrain)
- Estelle Caswell and cellist Alisa Weilerstein and "That famous cello prelude, deconstructed — Why Bach’s G major prelude is the perfect piece of music." I watched this twice - excellent music nerdery. (by tonycpsu)
- Anne Dagg winning "an Order of Canada for her pioneering (and under-rewarded) studies of giraffes"; she was featured in a 2018 documentary, The Woman Who Loves Giraffes. I like how her website menu includes "Zoologist" as wells as "Feminist." As a kid who thought giraffes were cool (and still are), I'm glad to have learned of her. (by clew)
Huzzah to all of you for making these posts!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 6:41 AM on March 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ack, somehow I missed two in the honorable mentions list: posts featuring botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist and bryologist - very thought-provoking in how to respect and consider plants and what they can teach us:
- "Robin Wall Kimmerer speaks with Krista Tippett about how sustainability is a cop out, the things we can learn from plants, and what it means to be an educated person." (by stoneweaver)
- "Robin Kimmerer writes for Orion Magazine on animacy, language, science, and indigineity." (by ChuraChura)
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posted by taz (staff) at 11:58 AM on February 3, 2020 [3 favorites]