March 25, 2015
Need a therapist? Eat a cookie and talk to cookie monster.
But in Vietnam there was not only one My Lai—there were many.
"The Scene of the Crime: A reporter’s journey to My Lai and the secrets of the past" by Seymour M. Hersh
Seth’s quest to get broadband from someone, anyone
What happens when broadband companies lie and claim they service areas they don't? If you're reliant on your home internet connection to work, you may end up having to move out of a house you just bought.
Game of Thornes
A popular exhibit at the Art Intitute of Chicago is the Thorne Rooms, tiny historically accurate scale models of living spaces from all over the world. [more inside]
The 2016 campaign’s most interesting long shot
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Ben Carson?
What If Sarah Palin Were a Brain Surgeon?
Taking Ben Carson Seriously
What If Sarah Palin Were a Brain Surgeon?
Taking Ben Carson Seriously
13 Long Minutes
In 13-minute harrowing and graphic long take/oner, Quebec police drama 19-2 takes the viewer inside a school shooting. [more inside]
“We always say, Someday we’ll meet on Thursday Island,”
“White Australians don’t want to talk about it, and it’s so recent, so raw, that it’s a sensitive topic. And then there are those who don’t even know the Torres Strait Islands exist. So he’s not only educating people around the world, he’s educating Australians. Patty’s a bridge builder. And as an NBA star, he’s got the cool factor. Crazy as it sounds, there aren’t many people who are proud to be indigenous. And Patty, he’s putting it on the world stage."
Story of Patty Mills: Spur, Aussie, Bala
Does What it Says on the Tin
This sounds like the setup to Indiana Jones V
WWII-era German coins and parts of a broken plate suggest that a ruin in the Argentinian jungle may have been built as a shelter for Nazi leaders in case of a defeat. (Or maybe it's just archaeologists fooling themselves.)
"I am deeply superficial."
John Prine has not yet released new lyrics
Larry Tribe has a new client. (SLNYMag)
Free bananas in Berkeley
"Thousands of Berkeley voters got stuck in an email storm last week after a technical glitch became a viral meme that prompted around 70 residents to hold a potluck picnic Sunday." [more inside]
This is Swing Street!
A TV pilot which failed to attract sponsors, After Hours carries all the poignance of a noble lost cause. Despite a certain self-consciousness in presentation, which clearly aims at winning over a recalcitrant audience, some of the best jazz ever recorded on film is available here. After an opening montage devoted to Manhattan jazz clubs accompanied by the narrator’s patter (“This is my beat — the jazz beat”), one is introduced to the ‘cigarette girl’ and ‘doorman’ at the “After Hours Club,” complete with fictional glosses (the girl is an “aspiring actress”). But as soon as Coleman Hawkins enters, joins the rhythm section on the bandstand and launches into a gorgeous version of “Lover Man,” the film properly gets down to business.Jonathan Rosenbaum on After Hours (1961), featuring Johnny Guarnieri, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Barry Galbraith, Milt Hinton, Cozy Cole, and Carol Stevens. [more inside]
"Respect the elves - or else"
Huddled together amid the jagged rocks of the Gálgahraun lava field, a group of nervous onlookers wait with bated breath. Suddenly, there's a loud crack and a tumble of stones as a 50-tonne boulder is wrenched from the ground, then slowly raised into the air and eased down nearby, so delicately you'd think it was a priceless sculpture. "I just hope they’re happy in their new home," says Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir. "The elves really don't like being uprooted like this."Huldufólk, or "hidden people," are beings from Icelandic folklore reported to dwell in rocks. People are very reluctant to disturb their homes. (Previously.)
"GooooooOOOOOO INTERNET!"
tampon or fungus?
The Hip-Hop Messiah: An Archetype
Can you wiggle? Can you chomp?
"Grandmother Fish is a book like no other I have seen"
We start with a delightfully drawn Grandmother Fish, who lived a long, long, long, long, long time ago and could wiggle and swim fast and had jaws to chomp with. At once, this is made personally relevant: "Can you wiggle? … Can you chomp?" We proceed by way of Grandmother Reptile, Grandmother Mammal and Grandmother Ape, to Grandmother Human, who lived a long time ago, could walk on two feet and talk and tell stories[more inside]
Another Nail In The NCAA's Coffin
After years of fighting over keeping the records sealed, the NCAA has finally released to the public their internal documents on the Reggie Bush investigation, as part of the defamation lawsuit filed against the NCAA by former USC RB coach Todd McNair. The NCAA had argued that allowing the records to be unsealed would hinder future investigations, but such arguments were dismissed by the California courts, leading to the release. [more inside]
"He thought Nashville was the roughest"
On the Road Again: Mapping All the Cities in Willie Nelson's Songs
Over the course of his career—a five-decade ramblin' run that spans recordings as far back as 1962 and as recent as last year—Willie has written endlessly about his affection for (and occasional vexation with) cities across the land. These are all of those places. Well, a whole hell of a lot of them, anyway.
"First of all, things need to be very, very rainbow"
An Idaho State Senator, Paul Shepherd, has called on the state to impeach federal judges who struck down the state's anti-SSM law. One mistake, though. He forgot to renew the domain for his re-election campaign, and now a gay nerd has taken it over.
Hot Town, Summer in the City
What would happen if an 800-kiloton nuclear warhead detonated above midtown Manhattan? [via realfuture]
Communicate affordably with imprisoned loved ones
Pigeon.ly has joined Y-Combinator's 2015 Winter class. While in prison, founder Frederick Hutson was amazed by the cost and difficulty of communicating with those outside. When he was released in 2011, he founded Pigeon.ly (originally Picturegram) to help people send pictures (and, later, make phone calls) to inmates. Additional coverage: The New York Times (2013), Forbes (2014), Planet Money.
Taco to the face
Orchids underground: a beautiful parasite
In 1928, a farmer digging in his garden found a flower blooming underground. Three years ago, scientists discovered that it's so well adapted to living underground that it has lost almost all of its chloroplast genes. While this species is unusual for an orchid in the extent of its parasitism, it turns out that all orchids are actually parasites--stealing nitrogen from tiny fungi in the soil without trading any carbon back as plants usually do. See photos of the underground orchid here.
Burmese slaves in the global fish trade
"If Americans and Europeans are eating this fish, they should remember us," said Hlaing Min, 30, a runaway slave from Benjina. "There must be a mountain of bones under the sea. ... The bones of the people could be an island, it's that many."
Are slaves catching the fish you buy? A year-long AP investigation into the use of slaves to catch fish that end up in supply chains going to Kroger, Wal-Mart and Sysco, the U.S.' biggest food distributor.
Are slaves catching the fish you buy? A year-long AP investigation into the use of slaves to catch fish that end up in supply chains going to Kroger, Wal-Mart and Sysco, the U.S.' biggest food distributor.
I would prefer not to.
Clerks. “vain, mean, selfish, greedy, sensual and sly, talkative and cowardly”
Reactions to 'The L Word' Ten Years On
The Emotional Stages Of Rewatching The L Word Ten Years Later
1. No. No. No. No. No no no. No. NO.Listling Without Commentary: 22 Excerpts From Brutal Amazon Customer Reviews Of “The L Word”
2. YES.
16. I couldn’t bear having it in my room so I broke it and threw it in a huge garbage next to our house. Hope this review stops you from buying it, don’t repeat the mistake that I’ve done.Also, the comments on the articles (both contain spoilers).
17. Turns out lesbians aren’t that interesting.
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