June 19, 2018
Mortal Combat Theme, Acapella
Juneteenth
On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the United States Army arrived in Galveston, Texas. One of the orders he issued was GENERAL ORDER #3:
The people are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them, become that between employer and hired labor.What Is Juneteenth?, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
When Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued the above order, he had no idea that, in establishing the Union Army’s authority over the people of Texas, he was also establishing the basis for a holiday, “Juneteenth” (“June” plus “nineteenth”), today the most popular annual celebration of emancipation from slavery in the United States. After all, by the time Granger assumed command of the Department of Texas, the Confederate capital in Richmond had fallen; the “Executive” to whom he referred, President Lincoln, was dead; and the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was well on its way to ratification. But Granger wasn’t just a few months late. The Emancipation Proclamation itself, ending slavery in the Confederacy (at least on paper), had taken effect two-and-a-half years before, and in the interim, close to 200,000 black men had enlisted in the fight. So, formalities aside, wasn’t it all over, literally, but the shouting?[more inside]
Marc Daniels joins in on his daughter's dance
So, you're at your daughter's dance recital and she's having a total breakdown on stage. What do you do? This dad got up on stage and did basically the entire dance encouraging his daughter. [2m55s]
We're gonna need it.
Canada's senators have voted to legalize recreational marijuana. It'll be about 8-12 weeks before you'll be able to walk into your local licensed retailler to buy, though.
"Oh my brother's sooooooooo dead!"
This Sounds Serious is a true crime podcast where Minnesota public radio host Gwen Radford investigates the case of Chuck Brondstadt, an Orlando weatherman who drowned in his own waterbed, possibly at the hands of his twin brother Daniel.
It's brought to you in part by Vancouver media personality Dave Shumka, and the team behind CBC Radio's popular newsmagazine This Is That. [more inside]
The Sea Within The Continent
At this year's Berlin Biennale, titled "We Don't Need Another Hero, artist Heba Y. Amin (previously) presents OPERATION SUNKEN SEA, a utopian plan promising that "...A new era of human progress will be initiated through the draining and rerouting of the Mediterranean Sea to converge Africa and Europe into one supercontinent." [more inside]
This will end in flames
Rainbow Rowell is teasing us with a sequel to Carry On. Originally fanfiction from her novel, Fangirl, the cast of Carry On includes gay, lesbian, and questioning characters, and multiple perspectives on what it means to be a chosen one and how to save the world. [more inside]
We've almost certainly left off your personal favorite.
Thrillist has compiled the 100 greatest YouTube videos of all time, ranked.
The sidewalk doesn’t have chickenpox.
Ever wonder what those bumps in the sidewalk are for when you’re approaching an intersection? Dr. Amy Kavanaugh explains in this twitter thread.
48 hours in...
The Show with the Mouse
Die Sendung mit der Maus (German link) is the oldest kids' show on German TV - it first aired in 1971. Its main charm was its unhurried, affirming and positive approach to children's stories and children's questions. Despite multiple makeovers, the basic format remains the same: each episode has animated shorts (Lachgeschichten) and documentaries about everyday things (Sachgeschichten). But most of all, we children loved the Maus Spots that separated the individual blocks from each other: charming, wordless adventures of a very big, orange mouse and a very small, purple elephant. The best thing is: It's all available online and if your kids are like mine, they will love Mouse and Elephant, too. [more inside]
Monoskop
Monoskop is a wiki project for collaborative studies of the arts, media and humanities. It includes an archive of out-of-print magazines and books, and much more.
Who has created this abomination against God, [hu]man and patisserie?
The donug, which should be a "sweet, deep-fried dough stuffed with chicken", is actually "chicken, in a ring shape, coated in cornflakes and panko crumbs, plus a secret blend of flour and spices, deep-fried"
On the otter of sobriety
"Some neophyte knitters might think that one scarf is a project. But then their goal is probably to make a scarf. My goal was to no longer want to drink a bottle of wine every night, and that would take more yarn." Or maybe a felted otter kit. Or maybe saying no to the want instead of killing it. Kristi Coulter, for Longreads: Trying to Kill the Want.
Time for Detroit renewal
Michigan Central Station was originally a grand train depot in the style of the early 20th Century, complete with an office building that made it the tallest train station in the world. It fell into disrepair as Detroit's own automotive industry killed the trains, and has stood as one of the preeminent examples of "ruin porn". But earlier this month, Ford bought the structure, intending to redevelop it as a hub for its autonomous vehicle development. The news was hailed across Michigan as a sign of recovery, attracting even the attention of scavengers, returning one of the antique clocks that had been taken from the depot during its long abandonment.
A story about a shower curtain
On Ask Reddit, a user asked "What really happened in real life that if you saw it in a movie you would say "that's totally unrealistic"?". The top scoring result is a story that presented a baffling mystery to one group of people, a Lovecraftian horror to another, and grand hilarity to everyone else.
The law would “destroy the internet as we know it” warn the campaigners
Campaigns have been mounted against Article 13, which aside from banning memes will have all kinds of consequences if passed. Voting is being held tomorrow.
The great Dickens and Dostoevsky hoax
"There were two people in him, he told me: one who feels as he ought to feel and one who feels the opposite. From the one who feels the opposite I make my evil characters, from the one who feels as a man ought to feel I try to live my life. ‘Only two people?’ I asked." [more inside]
Good news for all affected by Assad's torture system
"I choose justice and human rights over revenge and violence as my means to fight back against what Jamil Hassan has done to me and my friends. And today's decision shows that I chose the right path and I am very grateful for it", says Yazan Awad. He was held four and a half months in various detention facilities of the air force intelligence and was severely tortured during this time. He is one of the claimants in the complaint submitted in November 2017.
Caution: Some of the links I used contain photographs showing the bodies of people who had been tortured or descriptions of torture. [more inside]
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