March 12, 2021
Daniel Tiger welcomes new autistic character to the Neighborhood
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, a popular PBS Kids series is introducing Max, Teacher Harriet's autistic nephew. Max is voiced by a 13-year-old autistic boy, Israel Thomas-Bruce, and will make his debut in April. [more inside]
The Indignities and Mediocrity of Brute White Patriarchy
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is under investigation by his own Attorney General and is facing possible impeachment for two colliding scandals: mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, and allegations that he deliberately under-reported COVID-related nursing home deaths. Today, New York Magazine published a lengthy, exhaustively researched, and incredibly damning exposé about the toxic culture of Cuomo's Albany. Despite calls for his resignation from a majority of state lawmakers and New York’s Congressional delegation, Cuomo says he's not going anywhere.
Does it matter if it was a nurse shark?
Wyoming Wormboy asks what happens if you get your first covid shot, but then a shark bites your arm off just above where the needle went in, like about 47 minutes after you got the shot? He's a scientist; he needs to know.
Vaccine Scarcity: A Policy Choice That Prolongs the Pandemic
Major international NGOs from Amnesty International to Human Rights Watch to Oxfam are calling-out a group of governments (EU, UK, US, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Japan, and others) and major pharmaceutical companies for “prolonging the pandemic” by blocking the waiving of some intellectual property rules at the World Trade Organization to allow wider-spread production of the coronavirus vaccine. The waiver proposal is also backed by 80 other countries and the head of the WTO. [more inside]
A Monarch Named Henry
Meet Henry, "an unexpected guest."
Make that "an early, unexpected guest who was given a warm welcome and an even warmer send-off."
Henry is a Marin County winter monarch butterfly. [more inside]
It's a Magical World
From bog to table
The Jubilee Oak is a five-thousand-year-old, perfectly preserved 42-foot long bog oak, discovered in 2012. Now it's being turned into a really, really long table. Just drying the wood was in itself a multiyear process. The wood has the density of ebony, and the individual planks take 18 people to move. Here's the story of Hamish Low, the craftsman leading the project. The project blog has lots of cool detail on every part of the process.
Best rainbows on Earth are in Hawaii, scientist says
There are many words for rainbows in the Hawaiian language. The Hawaiian words for rainbows describe different manifestations of rainbows that are possible. “There are words for Earth-clinging rainbows (uakoko), standing rainbow shafts (kāhili), barely visible rainbows (punakea), and moonbows (ānuenue kau pō), among others. In Hawaiian mythology the rainbow is a symbol of transformation and a pathway between Earth and Heaven, as it is in many cultures around the world"
Justseeds Activist Posters
Justseeds Artists' Cooperative is a decentralized network of 41 artists committed to social, environmental, and political engagement. They have a huge archive of activist posters that are available for noncommercial use. Topics include the protests against DAPL, the Poor People’s Campaign, antifascism, the Zapatista uprising, and prison abolition.
Lucha Libre Wrestler "enforce" mask and sanitizing rules in Mexico
In Central de Abasto market, Mexico City, Mexico, a group of lucha libre wrestlers are "enforcing" mask and sanitizing rules... perhaps that's a bit too strong. Let's just say (jokingly) encouraging the use of masks and hand sanitizers.
Would never happen in the US, of course.
St Patrick’s Festival TV is now live
Irish comedian / twitter person Michael Fry kicks off the event with his one person indie band's music video. The festival is here. [more inside]
Drawing Together With Lynda Barry
Want to take a workshop with MacArthur Foundation "genius" Lynda Barry? You're in luck--a two-hour version of her workshop, given through Graphic Medicine's online series Drawing Together (archive), is now online!
Hat tip: Open Culture, who includes a sneak preview of the class, along with a delightful musical playlist, here.
[more inside]
Hat tip: Open Culture, who includes a sneak preview of the class, along with a delightful musical playlist, here.
[more inside]
Hearts and Hummingbirds
“Consider the hummingbird for a long moment.”
Maybe it was always going to be about the grift
Conceived as a full-time attack machine against Mr. Trump, the Lincoln Project’s public profile soared last year as its founders built a reputation as a creative yet ruthless band of veteran operators. They recruited like-minded colleagues, and their scathing videos brought adulation from the left and an aura of mischievous idealism for what they claimed was their mission: nothing less than to save democracy. They also hit upon a geyser of cash, discovering that biting attacks on a uniquely polarizing president could be as profitable in the loosely regulated world of political fund-raising as Mr. Trump’s populist bravado was for his own campaign. Then it all began to unravel.Inside the Lincoln Project’s Secrets, Side Deals and Scandals (New York Times) [more inside]
"Love all, trust a few, Do wrong to none."
The Ethics Litmus Test - A Card Deck. "The deck and activities help build up our ethics capacity and vocabulary — as individuals and as part of a team. Use the prompts to practice grappling with the grey, inconvenient, or ambiguous challenges in our everyday work." Also: The Tarot Cards of Tech - a set of provocations to help creators and designers consider the impact of their work. "...instead of 'move fast and break things', slow down and ask the right questions."
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