March 8, 2019
I Know We Can Make It
The chonkers are getting chonkier
Unlike most domesticated species, cats are actually increasing in size, Danish scientists warn. (Full-text article).
"There are no spectators at Clambakes. Everybody participates."
I want to tell Jeffrey that there’s something happening here, something of significance beyond what, to an untrained eye, would look like the exact Sodom-and-Gomorrah vision my old football coach in Texas has in mind four beers in at the bar, when he rails against those coastal elites in San Francisco doing their queer hedonistic liberal shenanigans and sticking doodads up their butts. But what, exactly? (Ahmed Kabil, Medium) [more inside]
"I killed a man the other day."
The Banality of Empathy "The slippage between emotional empathy and the good in our public discourse also presumes that when we do feel the suffering of others, we are prompted to relieve it. But this is not always true. Sometimes, we just want it to go away."
An essay that begins with the watching of Netflix's Bandersnatch leads into a discussion about the idea of empathy in morality, Arendt's interpretations of Kantian aesthetics, and the virtue of diversity in art.
An essay that begins with the watching of Netflix's Bandersnatch leads into a discussion about the idea of empathy in morality, Arendt's interpretations of Kantian aesthetics, and the virtue of diversity in art.
Covert Cabal
YouTube channel that has interesting discussions of defense topics: Why Does the US Not Have Supersonic Anti-Ship Missiles? Electronic Warfare - The Unseen Battlefield. Are Aircraft Carriers Becoming Useless? They seem well researched and they avoid politics.
"This was more stupid than it was criminal."
"The day before their Oct. 26 arrest, the brothers bought a blue 1967 Buick Skylark. Although they didn't have legal documents for the car, the brothers planned to drive it to Mexico without having to stop at any U.S. gas stations."
“Which Starscream should I use?”
Lindsay Ellis: How YouTube Made a Star Out of This Super-Smart Film Critic.
Any colour you want, as long as it’s black
From the dawn of motoring through the 1920s, cars were painted in a full spectrum of colours, often in vivid combinations. The world’s first motor vehicle, the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen was green, with its fully-exposed engine finished in bright red. At the Villa d’Este or Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance one sees a veritable riot of colour that would likely be a bit shocking to today’s consumers: black with orange, yellow with orange, dark and light blue, dark and light green, red with blue, maroon with red; the palette was limitless.
Everyday type player. Alot like Noochie Varner.
All this week, The Ringer will break down its findings from the massive database of reports spanning 1991 to 2003 given to us by a former member of the Cincinnati Reds front office. Ben Lindbergh: Name a pro player from 1991-2003 or an amateur player from 98-03. I'll tell you what a scout said.
I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say
US Olympian Adam Rippon's sultry figure skating routine is showcased in this recently released cover of '80s hit "The Promise." A New Wave hit in 1988, When in Rome's original song receives new life with this cover, a collaboration between Rippon and musical duo Superfruit (Pentatonix's Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying).
“...the threat of color dictatorship.”
‘Yelling, Screaming, Almost Fisticuffs’ ...Over House Paint? [The New York Times] “His choices have been uncontroversial — his paintings have sold for more than $1 million each — until last summer, when he went a shade too far on one of his own homes. Mr. Scully, 73, specified Gold Zinger paint (from Valspar) for his turreted house built in the 1980s in Snedens Landing, an enclave in the hamlet of Palisades, N.Y., on the Hudson River’s western shore about 20 miles north of Manhattan. In an oversight, his team did not file for paint color approval permits required by the local government’s Historical Areas Board of Review. At the board’s December meeting, some emotions ran high as the public debated whether Gold Zinger should be allowed to remain on the house.”
Bate Bola, the noisy, clown-costumed cousin to Rio de Janeiro's Carnival
On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro during its world famous Carnival, far from the beach and the touristic clichés, there is an explosive contest between neighbourhoods. This old form of carnival features teams of futuristic gladiators that are a surreal mixture of play and menace. A tradition that has its roots in ancient European carnival traditions and in African rituals, they look like visitors from another planet. [...] A love letter to Brazil, in all of its beauty and all of its pain, this film is a joyous celebration and battle cry from the heart of Rio's forgotten neighbourhoods. This is the Rio Carnival that you have never seen before. This is Bate Bola. (YouTube, 16 minutes; Beija Films Bate Bola webpage) [via Atlas Obscura] [more inside]
In Her Kitchen
An homage to grandmothers around the world. Photographer Gabriele Galimberti took photos of grandmothers in their kitchens, alongside their prized recipes. [more inside]
It's not just Measles coming back
A 6-year-old boy who didn't receive childhood vaccinations nearly died after contracting tetanus in what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is Oregon's first pediatric case But, even after contracting a life-threatening infection that might have been prevented by a vaccine, his family stood firm on their anti-vax stance.
"Despite extensive review of the risks and benefits of tetanus vaccination by physicians, the family declined the second dose of DTaP and any other recommended immunizations," the case report states. [more inside]
Irony appearing in the wild in its purest form
A man threatened to sue a technology magazine for using his image in a story (previously on the blue) about why all hipsters look the same, only to find out the picture was of a completely different guy. SLCBC
Simply gazing somewhere around the face/head area will suffice
Here’s A Simple Trick For Anyone Who Finds Eye Contact Too Intense. tl;dr: Look at the person's mouth region. The perception of eye contact is driven by the other person looking in the general direction of your face, not into your eyes specifically. Study PDF, press release. [more inside]
Eat the rich. Please.
Thousands of New Millionaires Are About to Eat San Francisco Alive. SF is already known for having some of the highest rents in the US (although some would disagree, it's still solidly in ridiculous territory). It's long been well known that you can make six figures and still be low income, and that it's cheaper to rent than buy here. Studies confirm that thanks to the expected IPO spate this year, it's about to get worse for those not benefiting from an influx of cash.
Amazon Primary - Breaking Up Big Tech
Should Law Subsidize Driving?
Many of the automobile’s social costs originate in the individual preferences of consumers, but an overlooked amount is encouraged—indeed enforced—by law. Yes, the U.S. is car-dependent by choice. But it is also car-dependent by law. Long article by Greg Shill on hidden subsidies for driving across every area of law, summarized by Angie Schmitt (Streetsblog USA).
so it goes
I am now 38. I live in a rented house in Pittsboro, N.C., with my wife, my two daughters and my dog. I try to be kind. I try not to hurt people. And though I have just told you all the things I know with certainty about that day in September in Tal Afar, Iraq, when I was 24, I’m still not sure what it means. I don’t know if my being there in that place and at that time makes me a bad person, but on most days I think it means I do not get to claim to be a good one. Kevin Powers writes for the New York Times on the moral clarity of Slaughterhouse-five fifty years after its publication.
History
Panicked, he jumped off the mountain to his death
In search of the Brocken spectre - a photo essay about visiting Burley Moor in Yorkshire to get a glimpse of an unusual optical illusion in the fog.
« Previous day | Next day »