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Against all odds, Paris has become a city of bikes. "Rue de Rivoli, the wide street that runs past the Louvre, has been entirely closed to private cars."  nytimes.com
The NY Times Book Review is 125 years old and to celebrate, they resurfaced some old reviews written by the likes of H.G. Wells, Vladimir Nabokov, Eudora Welty, Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, JFK, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and Kurt Vonnegut.  nytimes.com
Because of the racism of the American healthcare system (both historically and presently), it's understandble why Black Americans are skeptical of the Covid-19 vaccines.  youtube.com
This is gloriously nerdy: "Why I've tracked every single piece of clothing I've worn for three years". Don't miss his wardrobe management advice at the end.  reaktor.com
Rich couple flies private plane to get Covid-19 vaccine meant for Indigenous residents of a small Yukon town. I don't believe that people are inherently evil, but this is such a vile act that I may have to reconsider.  theguardian.com
You'll have to click through to see the winner of The Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year for 2020, but I will say that IMO 2nd place finisher "Introducing the Medieval Ass" was robbed.  thebookseller.com
"Electric vehicles close to 'tipping point' of mass adoption." So many people I know have said something like "my next car will be electric".  theguardian.com
JK Rowling should gift the IP for Harry Potter to a non-profit collective overseen by HP fans. It belongs to them already anyway.  twitter.com
Biden has reversed Tr*mp's ban on transgender people serving in the military.  apnews.com
New research: Twitter users tweeting about "pneumonia" in January 2020 were an early signal that Covid-19 was spreading in Europe before the first official cases were announced.  nature.com
I used Photopea to make a goofy Bernie meme last week and was blown away by this fully functional Photoshop clone running in the browser.  photopea.com
"Israel sees 60% drop in hospitalizations for age 60-plus 3 weeks after 1st shot." The vaccines are amazing. We need to get them into people's arms faster!  timesofisrael.com
Great episode of You're Wrong About on Shannon Faulkner, the first female student to attend The Citadel (after a lengthy sexual discrimination lawsuit). Long overdue recognition of a forgotten feminist hero.  podcasts.apple.com
January 22
We should be wearing better masks indoors around others. Double-masking can help. "One big advantage of double-masking that I've found is that it creates a better fit and closes the gaps around the edge of your mask."  nytimes.com
The NY Times gives out commemorative Page One press plates to reporters and photographers whose work has been featured on the front page for the first time.  nytimes.com
Baseball legend Hank Aaron has died at the age of 86.  wsbtv.com
"This site features a curriculum developed around the television series, Halt and Catch Fire." This is fantastic!  bits.ashleyblewer.com
Nearly 1 In 5 Defendants In Capitol Riot Cases Served In The Military  npr.org
January 21
From the Biden administration, a 200-page report outlining the National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness.  whitehouse.gov
Walking 360° underwater by Kristina Makushenko  tiktok.com
"Here’s the nightly news program I’d love to see. An hour every night of Steve Kornacki doing in-depth analysis of vaccination activity."  sippey.medium.com
All five seasons of The Muppet Show will be available on Disney+ on February 19. Very excited for this...I was an avid Muppet Show viewer as a kid. "It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights..."  deadline.com
On Biden's first day in office, the US rejoined the Paris climate agreement. "It’s just a huge day to get rid of this myopic, benighted administration and welcome in a new president who manifestly is committed to strong, meaningful action."  theguardian.com
Faced with more contagious coronavirus strains, European countries are starting to mandate the wearing of more effective KN95 or surgical masks instead of cloth masks. The US should 100% do this (and provide masks).  washingtonpost.com
January 20
From the new White House website, this seems like a pretty good list of priorities for the new administration to tackle: Covid-19, climate, racial equity, economy, health care, immigration, restore America’s global standing.  whitehouse.gov
"Where the Obama administration's approach was too often clever and strewn with budgetary wonkiness, the Biden formula should embrace the opposite: big, fast, and simple." Be bold, change lives – GOP will complain either way.  theatlantic.com
Arnold Schwarzenegger, after getting the Covid-19 vaccine: "Come with me if you want to live."  twitter.com
There's a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 found in California that may be more transmissible (like B.1.1.7), which would explain the sharp increase in Covid-19 cases in the state in Nov/Dec.  nytimes.com
January 19
Flickr and the Library of Congress are collaborating on a project called COVID-19 American Experiences that "invites people to contribute images that reflect how the pandemic has impacted people's lives and communities".  blogs.loc.gov
Ibram X. Kendi has a deal with Netflix to bring 3 of his books to the screen: Stamped from the Beginning; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You; and Antiracist Baby.  hollywoodreporter.com
From I Love Typography, a list of favorite typefaces of 2020.  ilovetypography.com
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, An Oral History of Wikipedia.  onezero.medium.com
From a large study of household transmission of Covid-19: "age ≥ 60 and infants most likely to get infected, age < 20 most likely to infect others (1.6X)".  twitter.com
A county-by-county US map that shows who wants to get the Covid-19 vaccine. In some places, it's under 50%. Lots of work to do here.  technologyreview.com
Michigan GOP will replace a Republican election board member who voted to certify the election for Biden. Seems likely that for 2024, a few GOP-controlled swing states could have election boards in place that will not certify Democratic candidates.  talkingpointsmemo.com
From Ibram X. Kendi, a list of The 10 Best Political Books of 2020 by Black Women.  theatlantic.com
January 16
How do we get rid of hate speech and plans for insurrection on social media but keep joyful stuff like this?  polygon.com
The Trump administration has conducted 13 federal executions since July. "No president in more than 120 years had overseen as many federal executions." Didn't get enough deaths from Covid?  apnews.com
January 15
Holler if your 2021 bingo card included a pillow salesman advising Tr*mp on how to complete his coup.  twitter.com
How a 14-year challenge to find a person based only on a photograph of him and his name ("Satoshi") was finally solved. Great story but that last line is an *incredible* reveal.  findsatoshi.com
Wikipedia turns 20 years old today.  diff.wikimedia.org
Covid-19 cut US life expectancy in 2020 by 1.13 years. "Black and Latino populations are estimated to experience declines...of 2.10 and 3.05 years" compared to 0.68 years for whites. 3 years!!  pnas.org
Sally Rooney will be out with a new book in September called "Beautiful World, Where Are You". Hot diggity!  nytimes.com
January 14
Fascinating post about how @gumroad works as a company (all part-time workers, no meetings, no deadlines, focus on flexibility instead of growth). This is how I'd run @kottke if I could support more contributors.  sahillavingia.com
Pianist Joanne Rogers, widow of Fred Rogers, has died at the age of 92.  twitter.com
Course Syllabus for Making New Friends as an Adult. "Most assignments will just end up being watching your new friend's TV-show recommendation."  newyorker.com
Here's some information on enrolling in Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine trial for teens (12-to-17-year-olds). Test sites include Meridian, ID; Houston; San Antonio; La Mesa, CA; West Jordan, UT; and Minneapolis, MN.  connect.trialscope.com
Moderna is having a hard time finding volunteers for their Covid-19 vaccine trials for 12-17-year-olds, which will delay the eventual rollout of the vaccine to that age group.  usatoday.com
The 10 Most Astonishing Archaeological Discoveries of 2020, From an Ancient Cat Carving to the Amazon Rock Paintings.  news.artnet.com
January 13
The House of Representatives votes to impeach Donald Trump for a second time in little more than a year.  nytimes.com
January 2021 »  •  December 2020 »  •  November 2020 »
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