November 7, 2018
Get the flock out of here
How many ducks do you think are gonna be in this video? wrong its more. (turn the sound up) [more inside]
“tisane in the membrane”
Benedict Cumberbatch is ‘sick of camomile tea being called tea’. Is he right? [The Guardian] “When is tea not tea? That is, inarguably, a question. According to the Sherlock actor and exceptionally unlikely sex symbol Benedict Cumberbatch, it’s when it comes in a fey little sachet and smells of newly mown lawn. “Shall I really vent now? I’m sick of camomile tea being called tea,” said Cumberbatch – sounding a little like he had drunk too much coffee – on Absolute Radio’s breakfast show, before delineating at some length the scientific reasons why camomile, and other herbal drinks, shouldn’t be called tea.”
El Capricho by Antonio Gaudí
David Cardelús, architectural photographer, presents this 1885 summer house. El Capricho is a small and beautiful hidden gem surrounded by a very unusual landscape, one of Gaudí’s few buildings outside Catalonia and that, like all the works of the architect, displays a great richness of detail and symbolism. Surely one of the most surprising elements of is the constant presence of ceramic tiles with sunflowers, a plant impossible to find in the rainy region of Cantabria (near Comillas, northern Spain).
Um, Actually, I looked it up
Losing Laura
This part of our story, I have shared before. I wrote a letter thanking the doctors and nurses who tried to save Laura’s life that The New York Times decided to publish. “Every single one of you,” I wrote to the medical staff, “treated Laura with such professionalism, and kindness, and dignity as she lay unconscious.” The letter was featured on NBC Nightly News, shared across Facebook, and republished on websites across the world. Less than three weeks after Laura’s death, millions were touched by her life. But that was not the whole story. Far from it.This is the story of how my wife’s life was wasted by the actions of people whose job it is to save lives. It is the story of how our entire emergency-response system can completely fail us [...] And it is the story of how there will be no justice through our legal system for what happened to Laura.
The Member for Parry Sound-Muskoka
Long-time Canadian Conservative MP Tony Clement, who has held a number of ministerial roles in provincial and federal Conservative governments (including a stint as health minister in which he tried to shut down harm reduction programs), first resigned his Commons duties and was then kicked out of caucus after sending sexually explicit images to someone he says was trying to extort him. Many young politically-active women in Canada are talking about his history of creepy online behaviour.
Narrated art restoration videos
Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration has some lovely narrated videos about the restoration process, and an interesting Instagram feed as well.
L-L-Lock the doors tight - dive, turn, work.
A kiki is a party, for calming all your nerves. We're spilling tea and dishing just desserts one may deserve. [previously]
My (Brief) Professional Tennis Career
How a 27 year old unemployed lawyer became a professional tennis player (for a very, very short time).
A thing about chords
A Thing About Chords. A very short video about how different chords under the same melody change the feel of the melody. From Louie Zong, a cartoonist, musician, and storyboard artist on We Bare Bears. YouTube
National Jealousy Day, Finland's "annual orgy of financial voyeurism"
On November 1 of each year, dubbed National Jealousy Day*, Finland Bares Its Citizens’ Taxes. Esa Saarinen, a professor of philosophy at Aalto University in Helsinki, described it as “a fairly positive form of gossip.” (NYT) The annual orgy of financial voyeurism might raise eyebrows in other parts of the world, but it remains an important national event in Finland (Finnish news broadcaster Yle Uutiset). Finnish journalists trawl through the data to discover the highest-paid Finns, to uncover what celebrities are paid ... and to shame those who haven’t been paying their fair share of taxes (HuffPo). [more inside]
SF Writer Greg Egan & Mystery Math Whiz Advance Permutation Problem
A new proof from the Australian science fiction writer Greg Egan and a 2011 proof anonymously posted online are now being hailed as significant advances on a puzzle mathematicians have been studying for at least 25 years. 1600 words from Erica Klarreich in Quanta Magazine.
Go into the hot bubbling oil, unaccompanied. Each must journey alone.
Kitchen Butterfly - your definitive guide to Nigerian cuisine - describes how to perfectly cut and fry plantains. [more inside]
Arukone
Simply executed but deceptively complex logic puzzles. Connect all the matching numbers in the grid using every space and without crossing lines. That's it. Choose your skill level and you're ready to go. Caution advised: these are highly addictive.
James McClean. Footballer and his refusal to wear the poppy
James McClean's Refusal To Wear The Poppy Has Made Him The Most Hated Man In English Soccer (Deadspin)
The Hidden Coastal Culture of the Ancient Maya
For thousands of years, ancient Maya kings ruled a vast inland empire in Mexico and Belize. But just how inland was it, really? [more inside]
All modern fashion is athleisure
The theme of the past century of Western fashion is this: We take clothes designed for activity, and we adapt them for inactivity. And that’s true beyond the world of sports. For decades, Levi Strauss jeans were worn mostly by men working in factories and farms; today, denim is for loungers. Wristwatches were pioneered in World War I to keep soldiers punctual; today, we embrace them as peacetime jewelry.Single link The Atlantic [more inside]
Benny Hill/Slayer Mashup Disaster
It made me laugh, because Benny Hill makes everything funny. so I put a dollar. Previously with Andy Rehfeldt, the disney version of Slayer.
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