This is the monthly thread for posting media of various types that you've found that you enjoy. Post what you're reading, listening to, watching, and your opinion of it. Post recommendations to blogs. Post whatever media you feel like discussing! To see previous recommendations, check out the older threads.

Rules:

  • Please avoid downvoting recommendations just because you don't personally like the recommended material; remember that liking is a two-place word. If you can point out a specific flaw in a person's recommendation, consider posting a comment to that effect.
  • If you want to post something that (you know) has been recommended before, but have another recommendation to add, please link to the original, so that the reader has both recommendations.
  • Please post only under one of the already created subthreads, and never directly under the parent media thread.
  • Use the "Other Media" thread if you believe the piece of media you want to discuss doesn't fit under any of the established categories.
  • Use the "Meta" thread if you want to discuss about the monthly media thread itself (e.g. to propose adding/removing/splitting/merging subthreads, or to discuss the type of content properly belonging to each subthread) or for any other question or issue you may have about the thread or the rules.
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Oh, dear, Buttercup will kick SO MUCH NON-NEWTONIAN ASS

X-D

You don't know what newtonian means, do you?

Errr.. That's when you find a newt on Ian, right? Unfortunate situation for a newt, I think. But not so bad for Ian -- it could have been a non-newt. An elephant, for example.

Short Online Texts Thread

In this issue of ' Pteridologist' (pdf warning), there are two short communications (pp. 12-15) on the difficulties of identifying British species of Dryopteris (male ferns) and Polypodium, with a note on the inconstancy of morphological features of plants in the field. (I mean, okay, some species hybridize, but what the heck does it mean when a probably hybride plant has a frond or two looking just like one of the parents? somatical mutations?..)

'Pteridologist' as a whole is a 'nice' magazine - easy language, cultural/biogeographical/anatomical forkfuls, lots of photoes. Enjoy!

Singing above the chorus: cooperative Princess cichlid fish (Neolamprologus pulcher) has high pitch - teleost fishes communicate; they might use sound for it; proving it is difficult, because it's difficult to study their hearing.

On the Origin of Deep Learning

https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.07800

"This paper is a review of the evolutionary history of deep learning models. It covers from the genesis of neural networks when associationism modeling of the brain is studied, to the models that dominate the last decade of research in deep learning like convolutional neural networks, deep belief networks, and recurrent neural networks, and extends to popular recent models like variational autoencoder and generative adversarial nets."

Deep Forest: Towards An Alternative to Deep Neural Networks

https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08835#

"The training process of gcForest is efficient and scalable. In our experiments its training time running on a PC is comparable to that of deep neural networks running with GPU facilities, and the efficiency advantage may be more apparent because gcForest is naturally apt to parallel implementation. Furthermore, in contrast to deep neural networks which require large-scale training data, gcForest can work well even when there are only small-scale training data. Moreover, as a tree-based approach, gcForest should be easier for theoretical analysis than deep neural networks."

Website of an experimental camera made with 32.000 drinking straws and photosensitive paper. Gives a 1:1 picture of what it "sees", little depth of picture; I keep thinking that it ought to be used for research in some way, but so far haven't an exact idea.

Online Videos Thread

A New Year Song about the Hirsch Index, on the joy of reciprocal citing (funnier if you know Russian, but should be clear enough even if you don't. Unfortunately, no subtitles. Ends with 'Happy New Year! Happy New Hirsch! I'm off to write an article.')

Fanfiction Thread

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10343850/chapters/22859958

Inspired by HPMOR. After his wife died in a carriage crash, George Joestar remarried himself to a bright young author hiding her works under a pen name, and their son grew up with a taste for literature and the strength of mind necessary for a Stand. Then came his research on the Stone Mask, and a world of intriguing new possibilities to exploit.

Oh, boy.

A quote from there:

The boy felt his back bend backwards against his will, stretching where it shouldn't have been possible, the top of his head touching his rear, the two merging together like a non-newtonian fluid.

I do hope Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup show up soon.

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10343850/chapters/22880244

Chapter two is up. Would you like to read it, or would you like to giggle about your Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup fantasies?

Oh, I always choose to giggle.

Does this site have a report button?

Only in your inbox as far as I can tell.

Yell loudly for moderators to come rescue you. I recommend ALL CAPS.

What?

This is JJBA, not Powerpuff Girls. You'd know this if you noticed that this story's Jojo is a good guy.

And that is justified in canon. Jonathan Joestar-Summers has a Stand, you'll see it soon.

All I'm saying is that the Powerpuff Girls warping in have a chance to improve the situation.

What situation? He had that under control. That kid's head merging with his ass? Might as well throw subtlety out the window and state it directly: JOJO'S STAND DID THAT.

That kid's head merging with his ass?

Don't forget the non-newtonian fluid.

He had that under control

That's 'cause the Powerpuff Girls weren't there.

Interest Check - HPMOR inspired me to try and write a Rational fanfic. I've decided to rationalize Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Where should I publish this work?

(In Russian) Colleagues - a fic about Captain Peter Blood who gets to meet Dr. Hans Sloane during the latter's survey of Jamaican flora. They discuss fashion! shooting! racial differences! botanical nomenclature! international scientific correspondence! and other things! And then, of course, go on to save a town from dreadful French pirates and have an awkward moment of Blood being too famous for his own good. Outstandingly well-written, for a piece of fanfiction.

Nonfiction Books Thread

Robert Dick, baker of Thurso, geologist and botanist (the Internet Archive page). Abouth the book:

'This man, a baker who started work around 3 am would set off around 7 am and walked fantastic distances to see a small fern before returning home in time to start work again at 3 am. In another letter he says: 'I got home around 3 am Wednesday morning having walked with little halt, for about twenty four hours' - T. Munyard, 'Pteridologist' v. 4 (2), 2003. p. 41

Fiction Books Thread

TV and Movies (Animation) Thread

TV and Movies (Live Action) Thread

Games Thread

Music Thread

Podcasts Thread

Me and my cohost are starting a podcast series read-through of the web serial Worm. So far it's our most popular feature ... by a factor of ten or so.

Other Media Thread

Even if you've never read manga before I recommend giving A Promised Neverland a try.It's ongoing and I have a feeling most people here would like it.