May 19, 2021
Mess, with Texas
Is Phil Collins’s legendary Texana collection everything it’s cracked up to be? A Texas Monthly longread on the ructions and scheming around the renovation of the Alamo.
What we spent in a month
Six American families open their doors — and their wallets — to show us how much life costs. (NYTimes) [more inside]
Paul Mooney (August 4, 1941 – May 19, 2021)
Paul Mooney, who wrote for Richard Pryor and appeared on ‘Chappelle’s Show,’ dies at 79 [The Washington Post] A onetime circus ringmaster, Mr. Mooney got into comedy after watching Lenny Bruce perform at a bar in the early 1960s. He went on to adopt a similarly profane style, with routines about American politics and racism, mocking stereotypes about Black people and incorporating the n-word into his stand-up in an effort to deprive the term of its power.
Paul Mooney Remembered by Dave Chappelle, Ava DuVernay and More: ‘He Spoke Freely and Fearlessly’ [The Wrap] [more inside]
Paul Mooney Remembered by Dave Chappelle, Ava DuVernay and More: ‘He Spoke Freely and Fearlessly’ [The Wrap] [more inside]
a faint plasma "hum" scientists compared to gentle rain
Another week in humanity's exploration of the solar system. Starting from the sun: the NASA and ESA Solar Orbiter hurtled around the far side of the star from the Earth and tracked a coronal mass ejection. [more inside]
"Together in the chrysalis"
“In the first few weeks of the pandemic, OK Go wrote and recorded a song together, alone in our homes.” It’s called All together now and you can read more about it in this letter from band leader Damian Kulash.
But the story doesn’t end there: “A few months later, a high school choir from Long Island asked for the sheet music, so they could collaborate from their homes the same way. We loved the idea, and invited the world to join. [more inside]
The Never-Aging Ants with a Terrible Secret
Deep in the forests of Germany, nestled neatly into the hollowed-out shells of acorns, live a smattering of ants who have stumbled upon a fountain of youth. They are born workers, but do not do much work. Their days are spent lollygagging about the nest, where their siblings shower them with gifts of food. They seem to elude the ravages of old age, retaining a durably adolescent physique, their outer shells soft and their hue distinctively tawny. Their scent, too, seems to shift, wafting out an alluring perfume that endears them to others. While their sisters, who have nearly identical genomes, perish within months of being born, these death-defying insects live on for years and years and years.
“No child of mine is going to be a p*g!”
"I once again completely underestimated my adversary."
Mark Rober has made another backyard squirrel obstacle course for 2021. Previous obstacle course here. With new squirrel houses, Fort Knutz, walnuts, stuffed squirrels, and spy/heist movie inspiration!
Skepticism of news journalism, moral values, and framing effects
"there is a link to differences in moral instincts, which cut across demographics and ideology." "A new way of looking at trust in media: Do Americans share journalism’s core values?" by the Media Insight Project. (Answer: many do not.) "The trust crisis may be better understood through people’s moral values than their politics." Using moral foundations theory, researchers found four clusters of people linked by their journalism & moral values. Researchers were able to revise stories to -- while keeping them factually accurate -- emphasizing aspects that made them more appealing to, for instance, people who care a lot about loyalty and authority. "Might people trust these stories more, attend to them more closely, see them as accurate, and so on?" [more inside]
Meet the Master River Boat Pilot Who Conquers the Mississippi Every Day
"It’s winter on the Mississippi River, one of the busiest and most dangerous waterways in the world. Over the past two days, Captain Jared Austin has transported 300,000 barrels of jet fuel on a tanker headed for Europe and fifty thousand tons of corn on a freighter en route to Brazil. Austin is certified to pilot ships between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s his responsibility to know every bend of the river, and how its mood shifts, depending on the weather." Lara Naughton writes about shipping on the Mississippi for Narratively (from 2017).
Being the only poor person at a tech startup
“I freaked out and cheered over a bonus only to watch the rest of my team quietly put their checks in their wallets and say nothing.” Meg Elison relates some of her experiences being the only person at a tech startup who had to worry about money.
“To the over-30 crowd: What's the saddest way you've injured yourself?”
A twitter thread by @hanalyst, who continues: “I leaned my head back to wet my hair in the shower and pulled a muscle in my neck.” @maureenchuck1 responds: “I threw my hip out dancing to Groove Is In The Heart and had to go to hospital”, while @JlhNeuro replies: “Raised my arm to reach for something and got frozen shoulder for two years” and @RenDan81 responds: “I burned the word Pyrex onto my arm trying to take the dish out of the oven.” There's more, including... [more inside]
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