July Best Post Contest! Midmonth Awards July 9, 2017 7:33 PM   Subscribe

Herein, find weekly awards and recognitions! See categories here.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) to MetaFilter-Related at 7:33 PM (37 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite

(hold on a sec while I tabulate)
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:38 PM on July 9, 2017


bated breath
posted by ocherdraco at 7:43 PM on July 9, 2017 [1 favorite]


Our illustrious first-time July posters for July 1-9 (stretching the definition of week, I know):

panic (who's been a member since 2007 and is clearly playing the long game!), with "what a relief to have nothing to say, the right to say nothing" about a talk by artist Jenny Odell at the EYEO festival.

Midnight Skulker, with "Three decades of News of the Weird is enough," honoring the sign-off of NotW.

blithers, with "The Rec Center," about a weekly fanfic newsletter.

rangefinder 1.4, with "Birdhouse in Her Soul," about an artist who makes tiny houses ... for birds.

nothing.especially.clever wants you to know that "Being smugly witty is probably not that helpful," for all those liberals bringing knives to gunfights.

karlshea (who joined in 2004!!!) discovered that "The Guardian's Readers' Editor is finally back from vacation," which is a good thing since it sounds like they've been fucking some shit up.

More coming and I have learned an important lesson to pre-prep all my award posts in a separate window before posting the thread, you smart-asses!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:47 PM on July 9, 2017 [7 favorites]


Second Time Posters who dove into the pool once and decided they might as well do it again are:

daybeforetheday, sharing the fantastic news that Germany passes marriage equality

current resident lets us know that Photobucket asks us to Please Update Your Account To Enable 3rd Party Hosting

dayintoday tells us about United Biscuits Network. The sound of '70s cookie baking., which taught us both about biscuit-making music and that compressssssssed air can kill!

Big ups to all First- and Second-Time Posters!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:53 PM on July 9, 2017 [8 favorites]


Our Weekly Best Post for July 1-9, as determined by member fantastic flags, was:

The House of Lee, a post about the current political situation in Singapore, by destrius. The somewhat unusual fairy tale framing led to some questions and a hella interesting MetaTalk, where destrius talked about some of their editorial choices and their resonance in Singaporean culture.

Runner up:
Birdhouse in Her Soul, by first-time poster rangefinder 1.4, about an artist who began making interesting tiny bird feeders so her photos would have more interesting backdrops.

Thanks everyone who participated and keep those great posts, firsts posts, and second posts coming for the rest of July! (Come on, first-posters, you can move into the second post category!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:59 PM on July 9, 2017 [7 favorites]


Remember that in addition to weekly best-post awards (voted by members!), we'll have a month-long award for member votes; weekly recognition for first- and second-time posters (and a month-long award); and month-long awards in specific topical categories as determined by mods and members. Also hippybear is giving out some weekly awards! You can read all about all the awards here.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 8:03 PM on July 9, 2017 [2 favorites]


Congrats to all the winners for the first week. Huzzah for making MetaFilter a more interesting place.
posted by Fizz at 9:18 PM on July 9, 2017 [2 favorites]


Some damn fine posts here, Diane.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:43 PM on July 9, 2017 [4 favorites]


Hurray!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:46 AM on July 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Awesome!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:03 PM on July 10, 2017


New categories continuously added, so please check that category list if you haven't done so in a while. (Disclaimer: am quietly hoping MeFites rise magnificently to the challenge and we see at least a lovely pair of Carry On MetaFilter posts in July)
posted by Wordshore at 5:55 PM on July 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Catching up on MetaTalk and wow, are you serious? This is such a cool surprise, thanks! I thought the birdhouses would have already been covered on MeFi, so I'm lucky I had such a neat subject for my first post. Congrats, destrius, and all the first- and second-time posters!

Kudos to everyone making such wonderful posts, offering awards, and commenting and voting. Thanks to the mods for being awesome (and to restless_nomad and goodnewsfortheinsane for the help and reassurance -- the mods really mean it when they say they will review a post if you ask them!), and a special thanks to Eyebrows McGee for spearheading and organizing and tabulating the contest.

I have a few more ideas, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make another post this month. In any case I really missed the contest in December (and I totally understand why there wasn't one; I probably wouldn't have been able to participate much anyway), so it's nice to be able to see all the enthusiasm and great posts and categories so far this month.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 11:37 PM on July 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


So, I announced the Non-US, Non-Political Post prize on July 5, and we've gotten quite a lovely selection of posts that I consider eligible posted July 5-10.

We can clearly see craters on the Moon. from Servo5678 features the work of a Dutch astronomy student.

Making Homes is a fascinating look into a gay subculture in Bangladesh I had never heard of before, from bardophile.

infini's post about China's interest in creating One Belt, One Road (OBOR) to gird the world is VERY informational, and only borders on the political.

Another China post was about Wuxia novels, "The masses have erred, but my Dao is TRUE! PERENNIAL WILL!". Another thing I'd never heard of before! Thanks, smoke!

I enjoyed the UK diversion of mama casserole's Chalking Day post.

Too-Ticky's post about the ceramics of an Israeli artist, existing on the border between living and still life, was also, um... diverting.

And we all have mandolin conspiracy to thank for getting the word "penis" on the front page again with their post Norway's "trollpikken" has been [insert phallic pun here].

Dogs. Fountains. Toronto. jacquilynne. Who let the dogs go to the dogs?

Oh, and French collage. Oh so very French. adamvasco provides This post is very French because why not.

Buntix also managed to get penises onto the front page in a different way with the Malawian music performance Satan Today You Are Found in AIDS.

My favorites out of the group this short period were, for some reason, all ocean-related.

We Know the Way: The Art of Polynesian Wayfinding from Eyebrows McGee was a gold-mine of information about something I will never do because oceans freak me out, but I was fascinated reading about it.

A Russian marine biologist took a lot of pictures that made my jaw drop so often I've had to go to the doctor. Thanks a lot! I blame Room 641-A for their post "I love what I do and I love the Sea."

But my prize winner for this short period of posts simply HAS to be "There are plenty of other fishy names in the phone book." from Kattullus. I haven't had that much fun and delight in 15 minutes of video in a LONG time!

Congrats Kattulus! Also, LOOK AT HOW MANY NON-US NON-POL POSTS IN JUST 5 DAYS!

Go MeFites!
posted by hippybear at 12:40 AM on July 12, 2017 [9 favorites]


You know, I started writing that comment in past tense, and then went back and edited it to be present tense (because the posts still exist and are still open for commenting), and then the puzzling instinct I have for writing it in past tense took over again and I didn't even notice.

None of you even noticed this while reading it, I'm sure. My 11th grade AP English teacher would be so proud of me!
posted by hippybear at 1:56 AM on July 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


I flagged the post by destrius as fantastic, and I'm glad that other people did, too! I voted before the MeTa, but that was a double whammy of excellence. I've never seen a call out go so well, and the original post was, well, fantastic.
posted by Ruki at 1:49 PM on July 12, 2017


Thanks guys! I'm really honoured. :)
posted by destrius at 6:53 PM on July 12, 2017 [3 favorites]


NotTheUS award for July 11-15

Again, I was pleased by the number of posts that qualified in the past 5 days:

Mchelly wondered if we could tell the difference between musical styles in Oy Korea.

A car built out of wood? Only the Frenchman in ActingTheGoat's post Retired French cabinet-maker builds wooden Citroen 2CV would do that!

The taste of grief was heartbreaking to read, and Lycaste's post shed a light on a slice of a culture that I didn't ever imagine existed.

Chrysostom shared an article about engineers working in the UK in The cure for anything is salt water—sweat, tears, or the sea.

While NASA is a US government agency, I really should mention the most NotTheUS post of the past while, Jupiter's Great Red Spot, from homunculus.

Also kind of sliding in around the edges is overeducated_alligator's post about Soviet children's books Сыграем!

Thousands of images from China can be viewed thanks to Kattullus' link-filled post Images of classical Chinese artworks.

mixedmetaphors posted The Dread Gorgon which examined Medusa's evolving myth across years and civilizations.

I had my love of drum'n'bass electronica reawakened by filthy light thief and the post Essential breaks and beats and drum'n'bass from Calibre and Mura Masa.

My top three for this time:

The nearly heartbreaking post Navy rescues an elephant at sea took my breath away. Every time that trunk appeared out of the water... Hang on, it got dusty in here suddenly. Thanks, Lanark!

sent you sms... did you get it?? was entirely entertaining and I was really glad that cendawanita posted it.

But my winner for this time has to be Multicellular Exothermic for their post Quilt of Belonging! It tugged at my heartstrings in an unexpected way, and I was really glad to learn about this project!

Congratulations, Multicellular Exothermic!
posted by hippybear at 7:40 PM on July 16, 2017 [3 favorites]


(Awards from me in the a.m., it's been a busy evening, there was Game of Thrones to watch, and I am tired!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 10:54 PM on July 16, 2017


Our Weekly Best Post for July 10-16, as determined by member fantastic flags, was:

“...E3 displayed refreshing palette of kinky, coily, textured hair.” by Fizz, about the portrayal and rendering of black characters in video games and progress in the industry.

Runner up:

History Meets Technology in Shipwreck Alley, by mandolin conspiracy, about the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron, and its dozens and dozens of wrecks.

First-Time Posters:

snakeling offered us an obituary on Simone Veil.

landunderwave introduced us to the hilarious webseries The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo.

hapaxes.legomenon brought some terrifying advances in virology to our attention.

busted_crayons eulogized Fields Medal winner Maryam Mirzakhani.

Second-Time Posters:

informavore looks at the blockbuster climate change piece from David Wallace-Wells.

ferret branca noticed some unusual baggage handling in Australia.

ourobouros (who waited ten years to make a second post!) wants us all to bloopdance!

queen anne's remorse found the best place to get fried chicken in Ohio, where eating good also does good!

Thanks everyone who participated and keep those great posts, firsts posts, and second posts coming for the rest of July!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 5:28 AM on July 17, 2017 [3 favorites]


Congratulations, Multicellular Exothermic!

Yayyyyyy!!!

“...E3 displayed refreshing palette of kinky, coily, textured hair.” by Fizz, about the portrayal and rendering of black characters in video games and progress in the industry.

Woo hoo!!!

And we all have mandolin conspiracy to thank for getting the word "penis" on the front page again

*nods sagely*

My work here is done.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:59 AM on July 17, 2017 [2 favorites]


I continue to be super impressed by all the great posts this month. Kudos all around!

Also if you haven't looked at today's post about the giant atlas by mandolin conspiracy, do yourself a favor and jump over there and just click either of the first links.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:27 PM on July 17, 2017


Oh wow, thanks for selecting my post. I've been having lots of fun with my month of only video-game posts, and its nice that others are enjoying the conversation. Cheers. :)
posted by Fizz at 1:56 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]


Rather late to discover I've been called out. thank you HippyBear!

Dare I continue to participate and hit my 500th FPP? Or stretch it out to coordinate with my 10,000th comment?

Yas, I am old.

Ps. Cheers to destrius!
posted by infini at 9:44 AM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]


NotTheUS award for July 16-20

Quite a crop of posts for these 5 days!

Whether it's originating from the UK or from Gallifrey, DirtyOldTown's post You wanted to know who the 13 Doctor would be... and here she is! is definitely NotTheUS.

British comics are featured in lashings of poisonous snakes crawling round from unilateral.

A glimpse into the minds of birds in Mexico City via the Canadian public television (CBC) come from heatherlogan.

Exactly why the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest winner sounds different is explored in the video posted by JanetLand in "Music is the effect created against silence."

Charlotte Salomon's work Leben? oder Theater? is featured in BibiRose's post “Keep these safe. They are my whole life.” Charlotte Salomon.

While I look at maps and wonder how the Trans Canada Highway is said to run through "Northwestern Ontario", I have to admit I was charmed by The old goose was coming loose... posted by mandolin conspiracy.

Tamil-centric videos coming out of Canada? So you guys aren't terrorists? Courtesy of XMLicious.

Un tricycle du French seeks out its owner in a short film linked by Joe in Australia in the post Not a balloon.

Surviving a British Airways airplane crash or helping others through charitable donations are outlined in chavenet's post When You See a Red Toggle, That's Definitely the Toggle to Tug.

The Dish examines Toronto food in perhaps more detail than anyone wants. From thecjm.

Jamaica's first appearance is via Kattulius in Queen of Jamaican Culture.

Jamaica's second appearance comes from clawsoon in the post Rocksteady.

Anything about the ISS qualifies. Google street maps the ISS in There's that whole zero gravity thing... from ChuraChura.

Go deep in Italy with The Deep Joy courtesy of chavnet.

Medieval Spain. Food. jedicus. The Medieval Spanish Chef.

My top three posts for this period:

mandolin conspiracy's post Staying on top of the -ography in a digital age has already been celebrated here. Astonishing, and I'd never heard of this giant book before.

The lady is a designer from infini made me wish these architects would be hired to do buildings all across the US.

The winner for this period is "I only think about the next mile", which is about a North American (but not US person) hero who did a thing that left a major impact on the culture. Thanks, mandolin conspiracy! US myopia can be pretty intense at times!

Congrats mandolin conspiracy!

And thanks to all of MetaFilter for so many great NonUS, Non-Political posts!
posted by hippybear at 3:41 PM on July 21, 2017 [3 favorites]


Oh my gosh! Thank you!
posted by hapaxes.legomenon at 10:43 PM on July 21, 2017


What a fantastic collection, hippybear - can we sidebar all of hippybear's NottheUS selections to counterbalance the politics? ;p
posted by infini at 2:30 AM on July 22, 2017 [1 favorite]


I want to say that offering up this July prize has really changed how I'm interacting with The Blue and it's been really a lot of fun and very broadening to be focussed on looking for NotTheUS posts. I didn't realize when I decided to do this prize how much it would affect my interaction, but I'm thrilled!
posted by hippybear at 6:49 AM on July 22, 2017 [1 favorite]


Thank you!

I'm enjoying a lot of July FPPs. It's been a good month. Thanks to everyone who's been posting and sponsoring prizes.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:49 AM on July 22, 2017 [1 favorite]


I know, right? I'm looking forward to the next round of weekly prizes because that's drawn my attention to posts I overlooked earlier!
posted by hippybear at 8:52 AM on July 22, 2017 [1 favorite]


Some really good posts on the site this last month. There's so much awesome in the world. Have to keep reminding ourselves of that.

You're awesome and you deserve awesome things.
posted by Fizz at 8:05 AM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


Third week!

Best Post of the week (by fantastic flags) was Why Women Pretended to Be Creepy Rocks and Trees in NYC Parks During WWI (spoiler: camouflage artists), by twilightlost

Runner up: How Checkers Was Solved by Horace Rumpole

---

Our Fine First-Time Posters:

twilightlost's best post of the week above was a very first post, so extra good show!

KTamas also made a first post, about the untimely death of Chester Bennington of Linkin Park.

---

Splendid Second-Time Posters:

dysh shared A Modest Proposal for valuing emotional labor

hanov3r let us know all the things Euron Greyjoy looks like since he got his Johnny Depp makeover. Ship Truther 4 Lyfe
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 10:42 PM on July 23, 2017


Reminder that the fourth "week" runs through Monday, July 31. I'll make a new end-of-month post with all the month-long winners, and everyone who made categories can post their category winners there.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 10:48 PM on July 23, 2017 [2 favorites]


nthing twilightlost's post, I had no idea it was their first FPP
posted by infini at 4:38 AM on July 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


Pony request: I want to be able to favorite people's usernames
posted by aubilenon at 7:58 PM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


NotTheUS for July 20-25:

The moustache is still there and will be for centuries. from storyboard.

filthy light thief lets us know that A treasure trove of electronic tunes from Aphex Twin and his aliases are now available.

The Syrian diaspora and its cuisine are well explored in infini's post Syria’s refugees are feeding the world.

Who's a good dog? / Qui est un bon chien? Smudge! Smudge is a good dog, as shared by mandolin conspiracy.

Germany is apparently doing things highly scientific, which the man of twists and turns posted about in Stellar optimization.

motty shared the story of an irish punk rocker in the post Get That Monster Off The Stage.

A chef's project to provide food using what would otherwise be thrown away as waste is featured in noneuclidian's post Food for Soul.

Chill cats. Room 641-A. Come for the kitties, stay for the mad knife skillz.

mandolin conspiracy enters the list again with Ratted out, a post about an island rat extermination project.

Underwhelming holidays happen everywhere, but the Guardian has photo documentation of them happening in the UK in "A happy and Quiet Valentines Day with no drains blocked!" from Catseye.

The Thing in the Woods via twilightlost.

I have a top four for this time around:

This is the Night Mail crossing the border, bringing the cheque ... from fllthy light thief was fascinating.

clawsoon details That time the Great Crown of England was pawned in great detail.

Australian explorers are explored in filthy light thief's post Lasseter: the man who found that fabled reef, a man from death returned.

But my favorite NotTheUS post from the past 5 days is The colors of time, a post about Albania from kmt.

Congratulations kmt!

And thanks to all of MetaFilter for continuing to post things that aren't political and aren't about the US!
posted by hippybear at 2:59 PM on July 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Also, my end of July post (covering July 26-31) will be in the new thread started by Eyebrows McGee.
posted by hippybear at 3:02 PM on July 26, 2017


kmt's Albania post is fantastic!

And twilightlost's The Thing in the Woods post was great... and had someone identify said thing in the very first comment!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:45 PM on July 30, 2017


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