January 10, 2023
The USMNT Scandal Reflects the Incestuous Nature of American Soccer
George Pell 1941–2023
Cardinal George Pell, who was the most senior Catholic official to be convicted of child abuse before his convictions were quashed, one of Australia’s most influential and controversial Catholic clergymen, has died.
"one of many years of Scrabble that I hold dear"
"A Year of Scrabble. 47 games … 1,533 turns … 30,378 points. I catalogued every game we played for an entire year. The visuals that follow are visual experiments and focus on different ways of viewing personal data rather than exact details of who won or lost." Nicholas Rougeux's data visualization project and how it was made.
The Dybbuk and Other Stories, Dances, Plays, and Games
On Oct. 3, 1960, the Play of the Week was The Dybbuk. Directed by Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Fail Safe, Dog Day Afternoon, etc.), it was a TV adaptation of S. Ansky's play [PDF] (see "How it Transformed American Jewish Theatre") based on traditional themes (see "A Jewish Monsters and Magic Reading List"). It featured modern dance choreographed by Anna Sokolow, who adapted the play nine years earlier (see "Sokolow's Impact on Dance"). A 1937 Yiddish-language film adaptation is also notable. Other Play of the Week episodes included Medea, The World of Sholem Aleichem, The Iceman Cometh (dir. Sidney Lumet), Thérèse Raquin, and Waiting for Godot. Incidentally, related folklore merges with many fantasy sources in the CC-licensed "New School Revolution" RPG, Cairn by Yochai Gal.
a legendary fruit of myth and magic, usurped by the evil apple
Completely Arbortrary podcast. Tree zealot Casey Clapp & tree agnostic Alex Crowson on arboreal friends (and foes?). Once And Future Quing (Quince), Triangle of Citrus (Mandarin Orange), Big Nuts (Pecan) and cinnamon are the four TREESON’S EATINGS holiday episodes. No transcripts as far as I can tell. There are around 5 minutes of random chitchat at the start of each episode but the tree nerdery is excellent.
“The real question is why he decided, at age 33, to learn”
‘What’s up! I can’t read.’ O.C. resident goes viral after schooling left him functionally illiterate by Sonja Sharp for the L. A. Times, is a profile of Oliver James, whose TikToks chronicle his daily progress in learning to read. The article goes into why it was that he never learned to read before, but he also tells his own story in this short video.
United Nations says ozone layer is slowly healing, hole to mend by 2066
United Nations says ozone layer is slowly healing, hole to mend by 2066. A United Nations report says the Earth's protective layer is healing at a pace that has the potential to fully mend the hole over Antarctica within about 43 years.
Make cognitive science non-WEIRD
WooHoo*!
And Now For A Workout That's Completely Different
A couple months ago, kinesiology researchers conducted some tests to see if the walks in Monty Python's "Silly Walks" sketch had any health benefits. Turns out they do. [more inside]
Collaboration?
To stop comparing myself to her. I can't help but envy the lives of those pairs who are perfect complements. One acts, the other manages. One writes, the other edits. The model inspiring the artist. The muse amusing her echo. Or even both doing the exact same job, wearing the same clothes, favoring the same perfumes, marrying the same man-nɒm. How lovely that must be, to be at ease with your reflection, to never be alone, to always have a partner. [more inside]
Solidarity Forever
The long road to union representation at Yale (threadreader). Yesterday, after an organizing campaign that can be traced back well over 30 years (eg, JSTOR), the Graduate Employees and Students Organization (UNITE-HERE local 33) at Yale University won the right to representation in a landslide landslide 1860-179 victory. The victory comes on the heels of successful strikes at Columbia and the University of California and is part of a growing movement toward grad unionization -- including elections this month at Northwestern and the University of Chicago. [more inside]
Democracy by Lottery
The Case for Abolishing Elections: More disturbing, he noted how his fellow politicians—all of whom owned their homes—tended to legislate in favor of landlords and against tenants. “I saw that the experiences and beliefs of legislators shape legislation far more than facts,” he said. “After that, I frequently commented that any 150 Vermonters pulled from the phone book would be more representative than the elected House membership.” [more inside]
In the Stacks (Maisie's Tune)
In the Stacks (Maisie's Tune) by Robin Sloan is both a synthesizer with knobs you can fiddle with and a short story you can read.
I Wanted to Believe in the Limitlessness of Resilience
As I watch the unfolding of extreme events across our planet, I find myself continuously relocated to that moment in the car with my brother. The sense of fracturing that ripples from a single shock event, even if the full extent of damage is yet to reveal itself. from The Great Forgetting by Summer Praetorius [CW: climate pessimism, mental illness]
Red Hair the Nobleman
The story of a seemingly insignificant character, hidden in plain sight: deft and insightful analysis of the opening sequence in Conan the Barbarian (1982) [threadreader/nitter]
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