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In November 1959, balloonists on Strato-Lab IV reached an altutide of 81,000 feet (25,000 m) to perform spectrographic analysis of Venus (Wikipedia), which was reported on in Life magazine a month later, with the article "Target: Venus—There May Be Life There" (Google books), and fostered the dream that "life—even as we know it on earth—may exist on Venus." Three years later, Mariner crushed those dreams (NASA), but what about the Venus of the past? The Romantic Venus We Never Knew—Venus used to be as fit for life as Earth (David Grinspoon, Nautilus). [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 9:48 PM PST - 20 comments

Nieman Journalism Lab reports on two key dates: June 30th, when Tribune Publishing's two largest shareholders (Alden Global Capital, with 33 percent and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, with 25 percent) will reach the end of their agreement not to buy or sell shares in the company, and July 1st, when final bids are due for the 30 local newspapers owned by McClatchy, which filed for bankruptcy in February.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:21 PM PST - 11 comments

Why the Mueller Investigation Failed (Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker, July 2020)
posted by box at 2:35 PM PST - 56 comments

There are certain things you don’t know you’re missing in life until you’re exposed to them, right? EXP TV just might be one of those things. It’s got an aesthetic that hovers around the same territory as Everything is Terrible! and Vic Berger, it even reminds me of Mike Kelley’s stuff, but that’s only going to get you in the ballpark. Which is good enough, but you just have to click on the link and see for yourself. It’s a barrage of strange imagery and is really quite an inspired—not to say elaborate and work intensive—art project. And just in time for a pandemic. Bored with Netflix? Have enough Amazon Prime? Maxed out on HBO Max? You need to tune in, turn on and drop your jaw to the floor at what’s screening on EXP TV.

EXP TV the brainchild of Tom Fitzgerald, Marcus Herring, Taylor C. Rowley. I asked them a few questions via email. (Richard Metzger, Dangerous Minds) [more inside]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:20 PM PST - 34 comments

"In the midst of one of the darkest moments in the history of independent Bangladesh, we have lost a guardian and a beacon of hope, Professor Anisuzzaman. The Dhaka University Professor Emeritus, a public intellectual, historian, writer, activist, teacher and researcher, passed away on May 14. From his participation as an activist in the Language Movement in 1952 to his role as a member of the planning commission of the government-in-exile in 1971 as well as a member of the committee drafting the Constitution in Bangla in 1971; from his contribution during the movement for restoration of democracy in Bangladesh in the 1980s to his commitment to the trial of war criminals, he was a moral compass who led the nation through its most challenging transitions for over six decades." (The Daily Star) [more inside]
posted by Not A Thing at 12:17 PM PST - 5 comments

'Doing any sort of comedy so soon after 9/11 was exceptionally complicated and the stakes were no less high for The Onion. Not only was this their first issue back, but again, it was their first “New York City Edition” as well, meaning it was the first time The Onion would be available on newsstands throughout the city'. An Oral History of The Onion’s 9/11 Issue.
posted by figurant at 10:10 AM PST - 47 comments

Hugs to Look Forward to After the Pandemic is Over (Eleanor Davis for The California Sunday Magazine) [more inside]
posted by book 'em dano at 9:45 AM PST - 22 comments

Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer, reviews Spike Lee's new movie about the Vietnam War, "Da 5 Bloods", from a perspective rarely heard in America: a Vietnamese one. [more inside]
posted by Ouverture at 9:28 AM PST - 21 comments

Victims of Chris Avellone (Planescape: Torment, Fallout: New Vegas), Insomniac Games (Spiderman PS4), Ubisoft (Far Cry, Assassin's Creed) and multiple twitch personalities have spoken out about the sexual harassment, abuse and assaults they have suffered. "The game industry is rotten from within and without. Nakedly, openly abusive of its staff as a matter of course, the stuff it actively hides and covers for consists of more personal, and more horrifying abuse."
posted by simmering octagon at 9:10 AM PST - 27 comments

Every year Mobile, Alabama chooses fifty high school girls, on merit, to join the nearly 100-year-old court of Azalea Trail Maids as town ambassadors. Adair Freeman Rutledge explores the contradictions of her hometown's tradition by photographing these racially diverse 21st century teenagers wearing antebellum dresses in order to “embody the ideals of Southern Hospitality” and as a proud family tradition. All links go to the photographer's site.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:07 AM PST - 23 comments

Ten years ago, the "Big Four of Thrash"--Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax--stopped bickering long enough to go on tour together. Watch some concerts from the tour: Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Metallica.
posted by goatdog at 7:51 AM PST - 23 comments

An overview of evolution and atmospheric changes. Why birds have great lungs and mammals don't.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 7:32 AM PST - 15 comments

The origin story of Mr. T's name is the best. "I think about my father being called ‘boy’, my uncle being called ‘boy’, my brother, coming back from Vietnam and being called ‘boy’. So I questioned myself: “What does a black man have to do before he’s given the respect as a man?” So when I was 18 years old, when I was old enough to fight and die for my country, old enough to drink, old enough to vote, I said I was old enough to be called a man. I self-ordained myself Mr. T so the first word out of everybody’s mouth is ‘Mr.’ That’s a sign of respect that my father didn’t get, that my brother didn’t get, that my mother didn’t get."
posted by thirdring at 5:21 AM PST - 42 comments