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"Not reading, Bayard believes, is in many cases preferable to reading and may allow for a superior form of literary criticism—one that is more creative and doesn’t run the risk of getting lost in all the messy details of a text. Actual books are thus 'rendered hypothetical,' replaced by virtual books in phantom libraries that represent an inner, fantasy scriptorium or shared social consciousness." [more inside]
posted by clawsoon at 10:25 PM PST - 78 comments

"Thinx boss Miki Agrawal wanted to break taboos about the female body. According to some employees, she went too far." "Sexual-Harassment Claims Against a 'She-E.O.'" — New York Magazine, March 20, 2017 [more inside]
posted by Charity Garfein at 9:52 PM PST - 63 comments

Before Superman became the hero that we know him as, he was an evil genius.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 8:02 PM PST - 19 comments

Medium is now selling monthly subscriptions
posted by beukeboom at 7:47 PM PST - 33 comments

Nothing Else Matters . Caroline Baran is 15 and has a much older voice. Time After Time (also with PMJ), Hello [more inside]
posted by Gorgik at 7:39 PM PST - 7 comments

In 2011, Andrew Tait installed MS-DOS 5.0 and systematically updated it all the way through Windows 7. Now he's done it again, but starting with MS-DOS 3.10 and going all the way to Windows 10.

Cameo appearance by Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time game.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:32 PM PST - 25 comments

Ornithoscelida Rises: A New Family Tree for Dinosaurs [more inside]
posted by brundlefly at 5:45 PM PST - 16 comments

People Share the Most Pointless Argument They’ve Been Passionately Involved In, inspired by reddit. (Pleated Jeans has a single-page version without the unfunny commentary.)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:38 PM PST - 254 comments

The World Go Championship is underway in Japan. Organized by the Nihon Ki-in, it is the first international tournament that will include both professional human players and an artificial intelligence Go-playing program. 1st-day coverage is up on youtube, with commentary from Michael Redmond and Antti Tourmanen (commentary begins at 2:53). [more inside]
posted by sfenders at 4:29 PM PST - 11 comments

Retired Microsoftie and video game nerd Ed Fries [previously] tells the tale of how he and former Atari engineers Ron Milner and Michael Albaugh chased down a forgotten Easter Egg in Atari arcade game Starship 1, programmed by Ron and released in 1977, making it a contender for the title of the oldest known video game Easter Egg.
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:48 PM PST - 10 comments

Rosa Maria Segale was born in 1850 in rural Italy. At age four, she and her family moved to Cincinnati, where as a teenager at a school run by the Sisters of Charity, she decided she would join them. As Sister Blandina, her sights were set on the west. She was sent to a small town in Colorado Territory and she spent two decades in the region, tending to the ill, educating the poor, building schools and hospitals, speaking up for the rights of Hispanics and displaced Indians, facing down known bandits including one* Billy the Kid (PDF) and saving at least one man from hanging, as depicted in "The Fastest Nun in the West," a 1966 episode of Death Valley Days. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:53 AM PST - 9 comments

With less than two months until 2017s most important cultural and voting event, another major problem has occurred. Against staff resignations, a possible ineligible entry and a hostile backdrop, the Russian selection, Julia Samoylova, has been barred from traveling to the event host due to entering the Crimea from Russia, a decision which may not be surprising. The Russian Foreign Minister is apparently outraged, and the EBU is trying to broker a settlement. Across the bookmakers, Italy is currently the clear favorite to win, with Bulgaria, Sweden and Belgium also receiving much betting, with strong showings from ex-Yugoslav countries and some commentators thinking this could be Australia's year in Europe.
posted by Wordshore at 10:50 AM PST - 22 comments

Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel. ‘Five years ago, China’s most charismatic politician was toppled from power. His disgrace allowed his great rival to dominate the political stage in a way unseen in China since the days of Chairman Mao. All this was made possible by a murder. And the story of that murder begins not in China but in a British seaside town.’ A BBC News magazine article by Carrie Gracie (also available in podcast form). Previously: i, ii, iii.
posted by misteraitch at 9:00 AM PST - 7 comments

Walking in the Danchi - a photo-blog of concrete Danchi style buildings in Japan. [via]
posted by Think_Long at 8:21 AM PST - 11 comments

RIP Chuck Barris, dead at 87. NYT obit. Forever associated with The Gong Show, he not only created The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, but he was also a songwriter who wrote game show themes and the hit "Palisades Park" for Freddy Cannon. And perhaps he's a CIA assassin as well? He wrote the "autobiography" Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, later made into a film with George Clooney and Drew Barrymore.
posted by Melismata at 7:49 AM PST - 71 comments

Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware - A dive into the thriving black market of John Deere tractor hacking.
posted by timshel at 5:52 AM PST - 75 comments

Yahoo's defining moment had nothing to do with its accomplishments. When we look back on Yahoo knowing what we do today, it's clear that Yahoo's true self was revealed in a single, stark meme. I'm talking, of course, of the infamous Yahoo Answers query "how is babby formed?"
posted by veedubya at 1:44 AM PST - 66 comments