May 13, 2019
The Cockpit
Doris Day, Hollywood legend, died at 97
Doris Day, the freckle-faced movie actress whose irrepressible personality and golden voice made her America’s top box-office star in the early 1960s, died on Monday at her home in Carmel Valley, Calif. She was 97.
“My public image is unshakably that of America’s wholesome virgin, the girl next door, carefree and brimming with happiness," she said. “An image, I can assure you, more make-believe than any film part I ever played.”
NYT obit.
Doris Day helped America look at AIDS with empathy and love for Rock Hudson.
A life in photos.
Doris Day: A Hollywood Legend Reflects On Life
What a Wonderful Kind of Day
In today's season 22 premier on PBS, Arthur featured a very special wedding, between Mr. Ratburn and his new husband, aardvark chocolatier Patrick (with special guest star Jane Lynch as Mr. Ratburn's sister). You can watch the full episode here!
Kottke finds the facts behind the guide to flying yellow stripey things
A comprehensive to Yellow Stripey Things (via reddit) gave Kottke pause. "I don’t know if this [...] is entirely truthful or not — a bumblebee is “actually a flying panda” and a yellow jacket “is just an asshole” — but it is pretty entertaining.Has anyone fact-checked this thing? Ok fine, I’ll do it!"
The Taking of the Sixers
The Philadelphia 76'ers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs recently, but no matter what your fandom, or none, something great came of it. This photo, one should take one's time with it.
“It is a great responsibilty [sic] to be the only woman here..."
Australia’s Reserve Bank has confirmed that 46 million $50 notes that entered circulation in October 2018 were printed with a typo that misspells "responsibility" in one of its microprint security features: an except from a speech by MP Edith Cowan, who was Australia's first female member of parliament. The $50 note features Cowan on one side and David Unaipon (Ngunaitponi), an inventor and Australia's first published Aboriginal author, on the other.
This is the full text of Cowan's speech to the Australian Parliament (pdf) that's quoted in the microprint. The microprint on the flip side contains an excerpt from Unaipon's Legendary Tales Of The Australian Aborigines.
Think of the milk bill
The Trouble With Fathering 114 Kids A suitor on The Bachelorette says he is a sperm donor with 114 kids—is that too many?
The art of telling an entire story with a single word
Merriam Webster speaks to eleven authors who published books with single-word titles. Sadly, Stephen King (Misery) really half-asses it.
The Social Justice Toolbox: a resource for educators & facilitators
Created by Meg Bolger, the Social Justice Toolbox has lesson plans/activity guides for educators and facilitators who want to introduce issues of diversity and inclusion in their classes and workshops. Activities range from low to high trust requirements and topics cover a range of social justice issues including race and racism; what it means (and how to be) an ally; privilege; intersectionality; respectful pronoun use.
Dark Store theory
'What if no one can agree about what any type of property is worth? That way lies serious fiscal havoc. For local government to successfully operate police departments, school districts, and other public services, “the tax depends on an agreement about what the basis for market value is,” said Joan Youngman, a senior fellow and chair of the Department of Valuation and Taxation at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, told me. “A new theory has come along that challenges the usual practice, and it needs to be answered.” '
Reading Dickens in Saudi Arabia
Obayd Fox is a Welsh kid who lives in Saudi Arabia and practices Islam. He vlogs his adventures with a straightforward enthusiasm: a road trip to Riyadh, performing the Hajj, fasting for Ramadan. Because some of his Saudi viewers believe music to be forbidden he avoids it in his videos, adding to the pleasantly frenetic feel of his editing.
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Play the original 'Minecraft' in your browser, for free [Minecraft] [YouTube][10 Years of Minecraft]“Minecraft is celebrating its 10th birthday by making its Classic version easily playable on web browsers. You don't need to download any files to make it work, and you don't have to pay a cent for access. Since Classic was only the second phase in the game's development cycle, its features are pretty limited. You'll only have 32 blocks to work with, most of which are dyed wool, and it's strictly creative mode only. But who needs zombies, skeletons and other mobs when you have the version's decade-old bugs to contend with, anyway?” [Click Here to Launch in Your Browser] [via: Engadget] [more inside]
Blow Up
Your Favorite ____ Sucks, Day Drinking Edition
The Take: The Aperol Spritz Is Not a Good Drink (Rebekah Peppler, NYT) "Served in branded, jumbo wine glasses, the sugary apéritif is paired with low-quality prosecco, soda water and an outsize orange slice, resulting in something that drinks like a Capri Sun after soccer practice on a hot day. Not in a good way." There was, as you might expect, a bit of backlash. [more inside]
The African attendant's diary
Back Row America
Takeesha was standing alone by a trickling fire hydrant, washing her face. She was working, wearing thigh-high faux-leather red boots and leopard-print tights, waving at every car or truck that passed by. She yelled to me, “Hey, take my picture!” [...] I ended by asking her the question I asked everyone I photographed: How do you want to be described? She replied without a pause, “As who I am. A prostitute, a mother of six, and a child of God.” [more inside]
Echoes of Bombingham
Chris McNair, father of 16th Street Baptist Church bombing victim, dies at 93. Denise McNair would today be 67. WaPo | alternate source, no pictures
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