October 10, 2018
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train)
The Life Of Saint Death
Santa Muerte (previously) is considered the patron saint of outsiders. In popular culture she’s been painted as the patron saint of drug traffickers and gangsters, who are drawn to her for her deathly appeal. But she has also come to be known as a representative for trans and queer individuals, as well as undocumented immigrants. […] This short documentary from AJ+ follows the celebrations of a group of Santa Muerte devotees in Queens, New York who believe that since death comes for us all, it’s best to be on her side when she does.
Free Your Self
The Chemical Brothers have a new song out, from last month. I finally found it not on a streaming service. The Chemical Brothers - Free Yourself. It's possible they have a new album coming out (their first since 2015). [EBW 12 is apparently imminent, Free Yourself is a direct descendent.] [more inside]
It’s incredible what you can accomplish when you’re not high.
My name is Neal, and I’m a marijuana addict. But I’m not a child with intractable epilepsy, or a veteran with PTSD, or a person who just wants to chill a little, or Willie Nelson. Unless you count writing articles about marijuana, I’m not profiting from the industry. I’m just a middle-aged house dad with a substance-abuse problem. [more inside]
Panopticism
Airbnb and the commodification of home - "What does this to do our relationships with one another? When every interaction becomes a rateable exchange, we can no longer just be two humans holding a conversation: we are conducting a business transaction in which your ‘communication’ will be given a score out of five."
Anthony Bourdain: the College Course
Bourdain's influencers, movies and literature, infused his work. There's no doubt Bourdain's profound influence on how we view the world as travelers, as storytellers, as both outsiders and insiders, as consumers — of food, culture and media — will stir thoughtful discourse for years to come.
But if you're a student at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, you'll have a chance to discuss all things Bourdain — and earn college credit for it — as early as 2019.
Professor Todd Kennedy, the head of the university's film studies program, is teaching a new class entitled "Anthony Bourdain and His Influencers" next spring.
The Emu and The Weasel
Professor sanctioned for refusing to write a recommendation letter
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor has disciplined a professor who retracted his offer to write a letter of recommendation for a student who wished to study in Israel. After the associate professor refused to write a letter of recommendation for a student, the student went public about it, the professor was sanctioned by not getting his merit raise and his planned sabbatical was cancelled and he cannot apply for sabbatical for 2 years. [more inside]
F*ck it, we’ll do it live!
On Warner Bros.’ remake of “A Star Is Born,” actor-director Bradley Cooper and co-star Lady Gaga refused to settle for the traditional practice of pre-recording their songs and later lip-synching on set. Instead, they embraced the more risky approach of performing the movie’s songs live. The studio was aware of the danger, but with the help of state-of-the-art technology, a dedicated crew and some of the most innovative sound professionals around, Cooper and his team pulled it off.
Corruption in the 42nd
The State Sponsored Conspiracy to Destroy Pedro Hernandez Shaun King, journalist and co-founder of Real Justice PAC, has leveled charges against NYC 42nd Precinct detectives and an Assistant District Attorney that puts most conspiracy theories to shame. [more inside]
And she nailed it, of course
The surviving members of Nirvana played a short set at CalJam 18, with guest performers including Joan Jett taking Kurt Cobain's role for "Breed", "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and "All Apologies".
We the Polarized
The Hidden Tribes of America - Social scientists and researchers from YouGov, in conjunction with the More in Common initiative, researched the current state of civic life in the United States. Among their major findings:
- 87% of Americans: "most divided our country has been in my lifetime"
- 70% frustrated by how "both sides" handled Kavanaugh nomination
- But 77% say that "the differences between Americans are not so big that we cannot come together"
"One of my favourite shots is the aquarium-like garage..."
Russian photographer Daria Garnik's project Gagarin looks at "the nostalgic traces" of Yuri Gagarin's life in his hometown of Gzhatsk, which was renamed in his honour in 1968.
"I am a different person"
"Hark! A Vagrant, such as it is, is an archive website now." About ten years ago, Kate Beaton started posting her history-themed comics at "Hark! A Vagrant" [previously]. She's now moving on to other comics and books projects. "I miss making humour comics, but coming back to them, I will have to figure out what that will look like." Beaton dedicates this archive to her late sister Becky.
What does depression feel like?
What does depression feel like? A spoken word and dance performance. (Performance starts at 0:08 after a short ad)
The Plasticians: Death is not The End
Dr. Gunther von Hagens developed the preservation process of plastination in the late 1970s, which "unite[s] subtle anatomy and modern polymer chemistry." The result was not only a preservation process that improves medical teaching, but also allowed for the creation of Gunther's Body Worlds exhibits. Now, suffering from Parkinson's disease, which he says is "like practising dying," von Hagens wants to be plastinated when he dies, where his wife, fellow anatomist Dr. Angelina Whalley said she will eventually join him on display. Gunther has asked his wife to transform him into an exhibit. “It’s somehow finalising his life’s work,” she said. “I understand now that it’s more an appreciation and an expression of love for me to do it.”
Benchmark Testing "There's No Such Thing as Bad Publicity"
Following the debut of Intel's new 9th generation CPUs, Intel published a set of benchmarks commissioned from third-party Principled Technologies - ten full days before the press embargo was to be lifted. A set of benchmarks, that upon closer inspection, are suspect at best. With mistakes ranging from poor memory settings on the AMD systems and different hardware per test system, to the Intel CPUs given high-performance coolers with AMD CPUs running stock or unsuitable coolers and actually disabling half of the AMD Ryzen CPU's cores, there's a lot of questions about the testing Intel released ahead of the press embargo date. Steve Burke of Gamers Nexus drove to Principled Technologies' offices and sat down with one of the co-founders to try to find some answers.
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