February 28
February 27
I like how the production designer of The Favourite didn't fuss about being too period-specific. "Queen Anne spends much of The Favourite in a wheelchair, but the wheelchair wasn't invented until 1783."
How Marie Kondo Helped Me Sort Out My Gender. "It felt silly, sure, that this book is what had finally done it, but I also couldn't unsee my actual preferences: so much of the feminine clothing I owned did not spark joy."
February 26
Part of the current popularity of the 4-panel comic is that squares are very shareable on social media. "People don't go to websites anymore."
Work Wife, a book by @ericacerulo and @clairemazur about "the unique power of female friendship to fuel successful businesses". Featuring @aminatou, @amandahesser, and others.
February 25
How New Orleans Reduced Its Homeless Population By 90 Percent. They housed people first and then addressed their challenges.
A new simulation suggests that the Earth could warm by an *additional* 8 degrees C (12° total) due to cloud loss in the next century. "Think of crocodiles swimming in the Arctic and of scorched, mostly lifeless equatorial regions..."
February 22
What was it really like for jazz musicians and other black artists on the road during Jim Crow? The real story of The Green Book debunks the movie "Green Book":
The latest issue of @kottke's Noticing newsletter just went out to over 10,000 subscribers. This newsletter has it all: Throwbacks, Journeys, and the End of All Things.
February 21
Heartbreaking: This Man Works For A Website. "Out of everything he could have done with his finite and precious lifespan, he foolishly chose to spend it toiling away pumping out bite-sized pieces of 'content'..."
February 20
When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online. "...parents, schools, sports teams, and organizations have been curating an online presence for them since birth."
"Counting push-ups can help predict your risk of heart disease." What does 32 push-ups get you? (Asking for a friend...)
That time Jimi Hendrix came to London and blew all the other guitar players out of the water. Eric Clapton: "You never told me he was *that* fucking good."
February 19
A short history of Altavista, the search engine that ruled the Web before Google. Not many remember that Altavista's search results were better for quite awhile after Google launched.
WNBA player Devereaux Peters on the constant requests she receives from men to play one-on-one. "Time and time again, I have trounced men — far too many to count. Now I have nothing to prove."
February 18
Go-karts on a frozen river. This looks fun as hell.
How Presidents Day, a once-neglected holiday, became synonymous with shopping. It all started with bicycles...
John Pfaff discovers his old Apple IIe in his parents' attic in perfect working order, floppy disks and all. He spends hours exploring old apps & games...
Hey, you can watch the excellent Minding the Gap on PBS tonight (or on Hulu any time). It's nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars this year.
February 15
I don't understand Tarot really, but as an Achewood fan, I love seeing any of these panels in any order at all. So I love this Glitch app:
Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid have settled their collusion lawsuit against the NFL. The monetary figure is confidential, but guesses/estimates put it between $60 to $80 million.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard plays the flute (for complex reasons involving aliens and alternate lifetimes). Sir Patrick Stewart cannot play the flute. So when Picard plays the flute, a hands double plays the flute for him, and the music is dubbed in later.
Great interview with Meg Ryan by David Marchese. "Everyone is so happy on social media. It's depressing."
What happened with Amazon canceling its plans to build a second headquarters in New York? @tcarmody's (that's me) newsletter @AmazonChron has the answers (along with bonus KRS-One lyrics):
American kids are watching so much Peppa Pig that they're using British English. "Oh dadd-ay, may we go on holiday, please?"
February 14
February 13
John Dingell served in Congress longer than anyone. Here's his advice about preserving American democracy. One of his suggestions is "Abolish the Senate".
Fast food French fries ranked. Five Guys & McDonald's top the list. Am I the only one who really likes the Shake Shack fries?
February 12
Use of technology by different Amish affiliations. Cars & TV are always verboten, tractors are rarely used, but washing machines, lamps, and chainsaws see wide usage.
Remember When Ted Danson Wore Blackface to Roast Whoopi Goldberg? Reader, I did not. Wow.
In 1961, Fannie Lou Hamer was sterilized without her consent in a procedure dubbed a "Mississippi appendectomy". The goal was to reduce the black population in the state.
Midi City 2000, an interactive art experiment where midi songs become cityscapes. "Each row of buildings is an instrument in the song; each building is a note: the position is the time, the height is the pitch."
February 11
February 8
"Fortnite has become a daily social square – a digital mall or virtual afterschool meetup that spans neighborhoods, cities, countries and continents." By unbundling gaming, it's bundling everything else:
In the late 1920s, Mikhail Sholokhov's novel Quiet Don became a sensation in the new Soviet Russia. Then Joseph Stalin became Sholokhov's number one fan… and life got complicated.
February 7
February 6
"The Dirty Secret of El Chapo's Downfall". Sounds like he got to be more trouble than he was worth and his smarter & more careful partners pushed him out and into custody.
This Is Every Generically Cool Restaurant's Playlist. "If there's a small plate on the menu, this is what's on the speakers."
Can't Unsee, a quiz that shows you pairs of interface designs and asks you to pick the one that's "most correct". IMO, some of the "right" answers are pretty subjective.
February 5
If you have over 1000 photos and don't subscribe to Flickr Pro, today is likely the last day to back up your Flickr photos. Here's how to do it.
Illustrator Anthony Hare has been drawing Alfred Hitchcock for almost 20 years. Here's a retrospective he posted to Instagram.
February 4
A lack of natural resources, radiation, and low gravity will make it very hard to establish a human base on Mars. So why do we want to do this?
Pamela Paul: Let Children Get Bored Again. "It's especially important that kids get bored — and be allowed to stay bored — when they're young."
How to hang a picture using a fork. Is this the best-ever household hack?
February 1
A black family business invented Nashville Hot Chicken more than 80 years ago. Now everyone else is getting rich off of it. @williams_paige tells their story:
This essay by @violetblue is great, and puts its finger on a major shift that we should probably be talking about more. "How sex censorship killed the internet we love"