February 25, 2020
We are happy to work on this project; we are happy to see it grow
European software recruiter Honeypot has put together a few quality short documentaries on open source products. [MLYT] Elixir, Ember.js, GraphQL, and most recently, Vue.js. [more inside]
You'll come apart and you'll go black
David Roback guitarist for Mazzy Star died today, cause unknown. Guitarist for Opal, Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, and as already mentioned, Mazzy Star, David Roback, was a quiet storm of beautiful guitar playing and song writing. Sorry, I don't have more to say about him. Here's other peoples words and his music. [more inside]
Lobster Theremin:5 years of euphoric, spacy epic trance, scuffed electro
It all started with an EP in 2013 by Berlin-based Palms Trax, "three slices of Detroit and Chicago-inspired house" (plus a remix) on a label with a somewhat laughable, but memorable, name: Lobster Theremin. That EP set the stage for a banging first year, when the label formed two sub-labels: a black label series to showcase a more pounding style of techno, and the white label series to explore house music and more vintage styles, "although that slightly fell apart" (interview). Skip ahead, and there are 11 sub-labels and Lobster Distribution (Discogs x2). They recently marked 5 years (Resident Advisor) with two retrospective compilations: Lobster Heavy Classics and Lobster Deep Classics (Spotify x2). You can also dive into official YouTube playlists or the podcast series on Soundcloud.
35 years of Singing From The Big Chair
Feb 25, 1985, Tears For Fears' second album Songs From The Big Chair was released. The album was a giant international success, both in its own sales and the success of its many singles. Perhaps you haven't listened in a while, or perhaps never listened before! 80s pop with a confrontational, deeper vein! Side A: Shout [video], The Working Hour, Everybody Wants To Rule The World [video], Mothers Talk [video] [more inside]
Over half were suspected fakes
To test how prevalent counterfeits are online, Marketplace purchased dozens of well-known products — ranging from electronics to sportswear to cosmetics — from five popular online retailers: AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish. [more inside]
An inmate and a guard in a prison...
The Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images Into Public Domain
The new digital collection includes two- and three-dimensional images from all 19 Smithsonian museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives and the National Zoo. Everything is released under a Creative Commons Zero license. Jump down the rabbit hole at the Smithsonian Open Access portal.
Hold the soapwort
Not that we’re supposed to call it a “relationship.” It’s a “situation.”
Ask Polly counsels a women who moved off-grid with an emotionally stunted older man: “All of these allergies to love are really a longing for love in disguise. You can see that now, right? You haven’t fallen in love before because you’ve never taken the risk of making yourself vulnerable to another human being before. You chose to pioneer with a robot just so you could finally experience vulnerability. AND IT’S WORKING! Isn’t that cause for celebration? I’m serious! Now you finally know how much you value love! Now you realize that love needs to be affirmed through words! Now you know that you need verbal proof that this man loves you!” [more inside]
Plugged In On a Stronger Current
Roseboro’—she fiercely defended that apostrophe, reserving her family name, Roseborough, for her life on the stage—was more zealous than many a missionary. She was utterly convinced that books were all that mattered in life. She offered to give one promising young writer her ideas “as you put cloves into an apple you are going to roast.” And yet, though she championed voices who are today seen as canonical and left behind a literary legacy with which few other readers and editors can compete, she died destitute, rarely leaving her rented rooms on Staten Island. From The Strange, Forgotten Life of Viola Roseboro’ by Stephanie Gorton
Set As Wallpaper (Tiled)
Explain your thinking. Don't make it mysterious.
How to help someone use a computer. Knowledge lives in communities, not individuals. A computer user who's part of a community of computer users will have an easier time than one who isn't.
Phil Agre's classic text on helping others use computers. [more inside]
Barcelona Prepares
“ The climate emergency is here, and to tackle it the (Barcelona) City Council has declared the climate emergency with an action plan for 2020-2030, establishing a hundred robust, urgent and effective measures to speed up the way the city adapts to climate episodes in the next few years and mitigate the effects in the short to mid-term.” The Six Part, 563.3 million euro Climate Emergency Plan includes severely limiting traffic, expanded urban green-spaces, and low-carbon municipal food halls.
There you sit, broken-hearted / paid for shit, got outsmarted
Headline-writers around the globe fired off some real beauties in 2014 when a Beverly Hills auction house put a 40-inch coprolite--that's fossilized poop--up for auction. A private collector wound up dropping a hot load of cash, to the tune of $10,370. Soon after, a nugget of doubt rose to the surface: the purportedly petrified poo-poo came from the Pacific Northwest's Wilkes Formation, known for producing mineral deposits in the form of twisty, knobbly faux-turds. Vertebrate paleontologist Andrew Farke, writing for the at the Integrative Paleontologists blog, was one of many to highlight the likely fecal fallacy.
Be a Lady They Said
Be a Lady They Said Your skirt is too short. Your shirt is too low. Your pants are too tight. Don’t show so much skin. Don’t show your thighs. Don’t show your breasts. Don’t show your midriff. Don’t show your cleavage. Don’t show your underwear. Don’t show your shoulders. Cover up. Leave something to the imagination. Dress modestly. Don’t be a temptress. Men can’t control themselves. Men have needs. You look frumpy. Loosen up. Show some skin. Look sexy. Look hot. Don’t be so provocative. You’re asking for it. Wear black. Wear heels. You’re too dressed up. You’re too dressed down. Don’t wear those sweatpants; you look like you’ve let yourself go. [more inside]
here and now
Chris Hayes interviwed philosopher Martin Hägglund on his podcast Why Is This Happening: The Meaning Of Life[podcast, transcript], on his book This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom - " it is accepting the fact that life is finite that is essential to understanding and shaping life itself. In fact, he argues, it’s only because life is finite that it has meaning." [more inside]
“human condition,” and now
Poets Respond. Since June 2014, Rattle has published a poem a week written about a public event that occurred within the previous week. "News cycles rarely last more than a week, let alone a year. One reason poetry lags behind other forms of contemporary media might be this delay—how can poetry be part of the conversation when it enters so late?"
Jan 23, 2018 “Permission” by Noel Quiñones: When I say Puerto Rico I mean an opening in the skin / where gold turns green under my scalp.
Feb 23, 2020 “Coronavirus in China” by Anthony Tao: Masks. Wearing them, / we were more aware / of the other.
Our eyes locked more often, / for longer, searching for provocation, / gauging interest
Dec 17, 2019 “Flown” by Wendy Cannella: But who can hum along / to a tiny, rushing song?
Nov 17, 2019 "Crushes" by Ori Fienberg: Most have heard stories of the lead-covered Bibles soldiers of the great wars carried into battle, whose words protected their hearts. But when bibles ran out they used other books [more inside]
Jan 23, 2018 “Permission” by Noel Quiñones: When I say Puerto Rico I mean an opening in the skin / where gold turns green under my scalp.
Feb 23, 2020 “Coronavirus in China” by Anthony Tao: Masks. Wearing them, / we were more aware / of the other.
Our eyes locked more often, / for longer, searching for provocation, / gauging interest
Dec 17, 2019 “Flown” by Wendy Cannella: But who can hum along / to a tiny, rushing song?
Nov 17, 2019 "Crushes" by Ori Fienberg: Most have heard stories of the lead-covered Bibles soldiers of the great wars carried into battle, whose words protected their hearts. But when bibles ran out they used other books [more inside]
Wholesome esports
The Adorable Moment 7-Year-Old Simone Lim Became A Pokémon Junior Champion [YouTube] “Meet Simone Lim. She’s the new Pokémon Oceania International Juniors Championships champion. She faced off in Melbourne against the older and formidable Justin Miranda-Radbord. He’s defending champ with a long list of achievements, including 21-time Regional Champ. Lim seemed to come out of nowhere to claim her crown. This was her first year competing; she ranked top four in Malaysia Regionals and at a Singapore Special Event, which would be impressive enough for most players. But Lim is not most players. After winning the first match, Lim lost the second but came back for an impressive finish.” [via: Kotaku]
BSA Files for Bankruptcy Amid 300 Sexual Abuse Lawsuits
The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy, a sign of the century-old organization's financial instability as it faces some 300 lawsuits from men who say they were sexually abused as Scouts. The organization says it will use the Chapter 11 process to create a trust to provide compensation to victims. Scouting programs will continue throughout. [more inside]
Pre-existing conditions is a thing, again
Trump has gutted Obamacare for many. In 2018, President Donald Trump’s administration rolled back Affordable Care Act regulations and allowed so-called “junk plans” in the market. Consumers mistakenly assume that the plans with lower monthly costs will be better than no insurance at all in case of a medical catastrophe, but often the plans aren’t very different from going without insurance altogether. [more inside]
This isn't his first rodeo
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