October 30, 2019
Why Not Go to the Police?
In Unbelievable and Know My Name, sexual assault survivors confront the profound injustices of the justice system. Unbelievable, released on Netflix in September, is an eight-episode drama based on the true story of an 18-year-old in Washington state who reported a rape, then recanted when police officers told her they were skeptical of her story. (She was only vindicated after her rapist attacked five more women.) Know My Name is a new memoir from Chanel Miller, formerly known as Emily Doe, whose victim impact statement was widely read on BuzzFeed after her assailant, Brock Turner, was sentenced to six months in county jail for sexually assaulting her while she was unconscious. Viewed as companion pieces, the series and the book make a powerful statement about the ways the justice system betrays its promises to protect victims, putting their own character and credibility on trial when they try to speak up about someone else’s crime.
Clever Seamstressing
18th Century Dresses From Ikea Textiles. Apparently, Ikea has a history of reproducing 18th century textiles. And, since it can be difficult to find modern natural-fiber fabrics in prints that feel historically accurate, costumers use them to make dresses. American Duchess offers her advice on selecting your fabric from Ikea home furnishings here.
On not discussing whiteness during therapy.
"The couch in my therapy office is occupied mostly by white people. Anxious white people and depressed white people. Obsessive white people and compulsive white people. White people who hurt people and white people who hurt themselves. White people who eat too much, drink too much, work too much, shop too much. White people who are bored, envious, guilty, numb. Racist white people and antiracist white people. White people who look across the room and see a white therapist listening. We talk about everything. Except being white."
Why I Haven't Gone Back to SCOTUS Since Kavanaugh
Lawyer and journalist Dahlia Lithwick, who writes about the courts, the Supreme Court, and the rule of law at Slate (and hosts the Amicus podcast), wrestles with the fallout from the Kavanaugh hearings and how she thinks about the Supreme Court now, a year later. Why I Haven't Gone Back to SCOTUS Since Kavanaugh. [more inside]
“Hi! I’m JaNee, from Mahalo dot com.”
Despite evidence to the contrary, JaNee Nyberg knows how to make a proper Old Fashioned. [more inside]
An American's Guide to the 70th Anniversary of Red China
On October 1st, China celebrated its 70th birthday (now surpassing the Soviet Union, which only got to 69). There was a big parade in Beijing to commemorate the occasion. Videos, commentary, details - there's a lot [more inside]
Traumatic brain injury and the law
The Final Five Percent. "If traumatic brain injuries can impact the parts of the brain responsible for personality, judgment, and impulse control, maybe injury should be a mitigating factor in criminal trials — but one neuroscientist discovers that assigning crime a biological basis creates more issues than it solves." [more inside]
Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach
(sl AO3) : Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach
Recently in space
Robots, scary galaxies, new outfits, and a lack of spots. Asteroid 1998 HL1 flew pretty close by the Earth.
The sun is spotless, and has been so for a while. (Previously) [more inside]
Twitter to ban all political advertising
Social network’s move comes as Facebook faces controversy over ads that promote misinformation
Jack Dorsey announced today that Twitter will stop all paid political advertising globally because 'political reach should be earned not bought'.
parti' karamu' fiesta and Bm11/C#9
Musical polymath, multi-instrumentalist, harmonic badass, and all around cool dude Jacob Collier's insanely impressive cover of All Night Long. [more inside]
“the depths of gamer hell.”
The Very Real Person Behind Twitter’s Surreal ‘Shitty Gamer Takes’ Account [Vice Gaming] “You might think you’ve read the worst gamers have to offer. This account argues otherwise. It’s an account both exhausting and cathartic, where the typical response is likely to be the same face as the account’s fatigued Cole Phelps avatar. You’re forced to bear witness to the frustrating hypocrisy and regressive views shared by a surprisingly large swathe of the video game community, but because Shitty Gamer Takes’s following is mostly people there to communally dunk on these people, at its best, it can be a place that feels oddly welcoming. Sometimes, I’ll click through the hilarious responses to a particularly infuriating take and, for a brief and shining moment, be reminded how many good people are out there. There are a lot of joke accounts on Twitter, but Shitty Gamer Takes often achieves more than just humor.” [via: Twitter @GamerTakes] [NSFW Warning: Twitter account is full of screenshots of offensive comments: sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, threats of violence, etc.]
"It’s just the house settling, sweetheart!"
"Elise, I think it’s a little hypocritical that you want to check into a hotel. Weren’t you the one who wanted to spend more time together as a family? That means you, me, Harper, Harper’s new invisible friend, and the swarms of flies that periodically pour from our open mouths. Do you really want to ruin Taco Night?"
We’re the Husbands from Every Haunted House Movie, and We Think You’re Just Not Giving Our New Home a Chance [Amanda Lehr, McSweeney's]
We’re the Husbands from Every Haunted House Movie, and We Think You’re Just Not Giving Our New Home a Chance [Amanda Lehr, McSweeney's]
When Animals Mourn: Seeing That Grief Is Not Uniquely Human
I define grief as some visible response to death that goes beyond curiosity or exploration to include altered daily routines plus signs of emotional distress. Horses who merely nudge or sniff at the body of a dead companion, for example, can't be said to be grieving. Horses who stand vigil (Independent) in a hushed circle, for many hours, at the fresh grave of a lost friend may well be grieving. A horse who refuses food and companionship, becomes listless and won't follow normal routines for days when her friend dies? Why wouldn't we see this as grief? [...]As I've mentioned, it's not only the big-brained "usual suspects" — the apes (NPR), elephants (NatGeo) and dolphins (ScienceMag) — who grieve. Barbara J. King, writing for NPR [more inside]
the starling hawk dance
Breaking a murmuration " The hunters typically came in low and motored upwind, pushing the starlings up. The targets always stayed in formation to keep away from the assailants' talons: “It’s everybody for themselves” in pulling for the safest position, [Nick]Dunlop says. They’d veer and weave to throw the predator of their tails, and more often than not, the raptors would give up. "
I bought it for $6.
A few weeks ago, Shannon Downey found an embroidered map of the US at an estate sale, along with hundreds of pieces of an unfinished quilt. Both were the projects of a woman named Rita Smith, who died at age 99. Downey's hobby was to buy uncompleted embroidery projects to finish herself, but this quilt was a massive undertaking. So she reached out on Instagram, and a thousand strangers signed up to help. [more inside]
Organize The Unorganized
“ One goal is the radical democratization of existing unions, which would redistribute power from union leadership to the rank and file, empowering workers to take a more confrontational approach to fighting back. Another involves new unionization campaigns in sectors at the heart of the US economy, from “pink collar” sectors like health care and education to more traditional strongholds of worker power, such as logistics and manufacturing. “Socialists have really operated as small cells of activists looking for ways to flyer at a strike here, or hold onto a seat in a local union there,” says Ryan Mosgrove, a Washington, DC delegate and Teamsters staffer. “Now we’re talking about large-scale labor [mobilization] as socialist workers. It’s a whole other ball game.” From the Ashes of the Old (Jewish Currents)
Evil Is a Way of Avoiding Explanation
I Wanna Bust You Like an Animal
We have forgotten that sheep are capable of many things
like walking on a sidewalk, staying calm, stop[ping] at red lights. The Guardian photo essay of Julie-Lou Dubreuilh, urban shepherd of Paris.
One Sentence With 7 Meanings Unlocks a Mystery of Human Speech
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