November 9, 2018
tea and mealworms
Reading the Old Testament of Sonic The Hedgehog
Let me tell you about a little thing known as “The Sonic Bible,” a beautiful, wonderful and bonkers version of Sonic lore developed by Sega of America. The Sonic Bible was an internal document made during Sonic the Hedgehog’s localization that invented a backstory for the world and characters of the game. Sega of America developed the document because Sega’s Japanese headquarters hadn’t provided them with any original lore—a common situation at the time, but possibly a result of the ongoing disputes and rivalry between the two branches.[more inside]
Natalie Portman delivers a steely speech in the age of Time's Up
Save me from tomorrow / I don't want to sail with this ship of fools
Toys For People You Hate
2018's strangest toy trend has to be Yellies, spider toys who respond to your child's voice, and run faster the louder they yell, which keep inexplicably selling out. Or maybe not so inexplicably.
No One Is Above the Law
After Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned on Wednesday at Trump’s request (Washington Post), Trump installed loyalist Matthew Whittaker as Acting Attorney General (New York Times). Whitaker has a tangled history with the Mueller probe (NBC)—and a reputation as a crackpot (WaPo Opinion) and "a f*cking fool" (Daily Beast) who worked for scam firm that threatened victims with Krav Maga-style beatdowns (Vanity Fair), claimed judges should have a "biblical view of justice" (Des Moines Register), said he'd indict Hilary Clinton (USA Today), held a dark money–funded executive position at an anti-Clinton group (Slate), called the courts "the inferior branch" (NYT), and supported Trump Jr.'s Russia meeting (CNN). Legal experts are calling the appointment unconstitutional (Neal K. Katyal and George T. Conway III, NYT)… seriously, unconstitutional (John Yoo, Axios)… honestly, "Is he legally qualified to be the acting attorney general? No." (Andrew Napolitano, Fox News). Now Trump says “I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” despite several Oval Office visits (NYT), and telling Fox & Friends "I know Matt Whitaker." (CNN) [more inside]
"Hooray! I'm useful, I'm having a wonderful time."
Cassandra Fox, a Canadian-Jamaican belly dancer, recently posted her first dance video since injuring her ankle a few months ago. To her astonishment, it has been viewed 75 million times on Facebook. [more inside]
Look, it's just a vicar eating cake. What could go wrong?
From the UK, the Christmas TV advert for Mr Kiplings cakes from 2003. This was shown three times, quickly racked up nearly 800 complaints, and was pulled from TV but shown in the cinema (with a 15 certificate). Their "These are the monkeys!" ad was a popular one from 2016; other (less controversial) Mr Kipling ads about apple and custard pies (contains innuendo), from 1987, apple pies without custard, 1982, 1978 (Bakewell Tart), a Manor House cake and Grandma's tin and a wall of cake. Also, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring make a Mr Kipling cake advert.
Just relax....
Do you suffer from insomnia? Here's Ellen Forney's illustrated survival guide. You can also try the US Army's (alleged) 2 minute sleep technique, recently featured in Teen Vogue and Fast Company.
California Creepin'
Refusing to stay in place, a roiling mass of carbon dioxide and slurry-like soil is migrating across the state at a pace of 20 feet a year. So far, it’s carved a 24,000-square-foot basin out of the earth, and it’s set to continue its crusade until whatever’s driving it dies out. [more inside]
What’s Left?
Flynn Nicholls’ “Who’s Left” comic series explores concepts on the Left via interviews with activists and advocates. Disability + Healthcare (Part 2) Immigrants, Unions, And Tenant Organizing. Prison Abolition.The Labour Manifesto.
Threatin
„Fake band“ Threatin just played a UK tour to...pretty much no-one. It‘s a weird story of paid Facebook likes, non-existent pre-paid tickets, duped venues and long shiny hair. Don‘t miss the link to Threatin‘s official music video „Living is Dying“. [more inside]
An Axe for the Frozen Sea
I have recently started therapy. And axe throwing. My husband found me crying in the bathroom and asked how he could help.
Vote. Donate. Teach our son to dismantle the white cis hetero patriarchy.
“I would like to throw axes,” I said.
We got a babysitter.
World Champion Magician 2018
Eric Chien Just won the 2018 International Federation of Magic Societies World Championships with a routine called Ribbon. [youtube]
SnapCats
Audrey is an artist and industrial designer who creates hilarious images and stories of her cats. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Snapchat | YouTube
the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup.
It has been 15 years since Buddy The Elf smiled and twirled and sang his way to becoming a modern Christmas classic. In honor of Elf’s anniversary, a Chicago restaurant has put its saccharine train wreck—the syrup- and candy-topped spaghetti breakfast Buddy created in the movie [YouTube]—on the menu. [...] the pasta is topped with strawberry and raspberry sauces, marshmallows, s’more Pop-Tarts, M&Ms, Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, coconut flakes, syrup, and chocolate sauce.” [via: The Takeout]
Before envelopes, there was letterlocking
Say you're Mary Queen of Scots, or Galileo, or Machiavelli, or Marie Antoinette. Say you want to send a tamper-evident letter, but the mass-produced envelope hasn't been invented. You could still secure your message using letterlocking: a system of folds, slits and seals that made a letter its own security system . [more inside]
Truth Is My Aesthetic
Author Terese Mailhot on leaving the reservation, breaking silence, and embracing complicated cross-cultural love. [more inside]
Cycling in Seville - a success story
Seville was able to boost daily cycling in the city from around 6,000 to over 70,000 journeys. It did this in just under four years. The planner Manuel Calvo recently shared some of the secrets behind this success.
Figaro's Wedding for your Friday
Two great singers bring their eyebrows A-game: First a young Bryn Terfel in 1989 singing Non piu andrai from Figaro's Wedding and then a slightly more contemporary Cecilia Bartoli rendering Voi che sapete in 1998.
Hello Rang-tan
British supermarket Iceland's Christmas ad [YT link], originally created by Greenpeace, has been banned for being too political. [more inside]
John Dempsey’s Street Portraits
‘Dempsey was an itinerant jobbing artist without any formal training who created ‘Likenesses of Public Characters’ in London and the provincial cities of England [in the 1820s], as he travelled around in search of commissions for portrait miniatures and silhouettes.’ [more inside]
Violin Sonatas, etc.
Mozart wrote three dozen of the things; Beethoven composed ten; Charles Swann was obsessed with M. Vinteuil’s. The violin sonata (and is cousins featuring the viola, or the cello, or, much less often, the double bass) is a commonplace of the classical repertoire: below the fold you’ll find links to more of them than you’ll have time to listen to. For those in a hurry, try investing 6½ of your minutes on the finale of the Violin Sonata in A major by César Franck. [more inside]
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